This week's Poem of the Day
This week's Poem of the Day is Michael Laskey's 'The Door', from The Man Alone (Smith/Doorstop, 2008).
Read more about Michael Laskey here.
THE DOOR
This one went first when we’d hardly begun,
the son of the house, youngish, off for a swim.
This one had said she’d go early and went
without any fuss. This one was drunk,
a hand on the door frame to steady himself
before he lurched through. This one asked us
to hang on a sec, but never came back.
Nobody noticed the next one leave:
only her blue chiffon scarf on the arm
of a chair in the corner proved that she’d been.
When the door closed on this one I saw the light
in your eyes go out, and discovered my wit
had thinned, without him to hearten it.
Offended or bored by us, this one strode out;
and this one, confused to find himself left
behind, went hurrying after his wife.
This one went backwards, cracking a joke,
and this one followed with a feeble grin,
determined to speak out the next chance she got.
This one we thought would never be gone,
despite our exhaustion he wouldn’t give in,
and this one went wondering why he’d come.
One by one they’ve gone through the door:
some without tasting main course or sweet,
some in mid sentence, some in their sleep,
some in sharp focus or hazy with drink,
but one by one they’ve come to the door
and felt a change in the temperature.
– Michael Laskey, from The Man Alone
The Poetry Business receives financial assistance from Arts Council England.
