The Lodger

 

We let him in

And he stayed

 

He had been pleading

Out there

Wanting somewhere to stay

 

At first we thought he was just like all the others

Some fly-by-night who would be here then gone

 

But no

He wanted to hang around

 

He was everywhere

Into everything

He made us change our daily routine

He was probably in the kitchen (and we wouldn’t know it)

He would have been in the bathroom

The bedroom the toilet

If we let him

 

We tried to ignore him

Let him be and he’ll go away

 

He didn’t

 

Until

In the end

We had to force him out

 

Sent him packing

With a flea in his ear

 

I still remember that day clearly

Free of him at last

Breathing a sigh of relief

 

And the way he turned

As he was hustled away

And smiled that killer smile

 

And said
“I will be back”

 

And less than one year later

We heard a familiar knocking

On the front door

 

Returning trade