They tumble over themselves,
coming in through the door.
The silence births a manic cacophony.
What a scene! They arrive jostling,
and shoving, and vying for attention.
“One at a time, please!”, I cry
“Let us be organized, gentle and calm.
There is time and space for everyone.
I invite you, my dear friends,
and acquaintances of long-standing.
Welcome to my home, do come in.”
Doubt flashes past me, rudely and abruptly;
thrusting fear, anger, and envy ahead of her.
She is a hydra, funneling up up malice and hurt,
even as I frantically chop off her serpent heads.
“Stop! Stop! I cannot deal with this!
This disarray, this confusion!”
I plaster a smile on my face;
I am still learning how to entertain.
Let them come — doubt and fear and anger,
and envy and malice and hurt.
The pain you give me, I am grateful for.
The cold is nothing without the heat;
