Paralysis A row of tidy houses knocks at the windows

Paralysis

A row of tidy houses knocks at the windows.
A dull drum dum-dums in the back of my mind.
My bed is soft and comforting;
I let the visitors go unmet.

A cookie tin is abandoned by the door--
Dusty crumpets saved from British tea.
The chimes resonate once they're gone.
I wonder for whom they're singing.

Carolers are in the alley,
Leafing through the trash for naughty nuggets.
Newspaper balls are congealed, unreadable,
Tied to string, they decorate an evergreen.

My answering machine yawns hello.
Don't tell it how you are; no one's listening.
I'm playing chess with Lazarus
And baking brownies in the basement.

Shannon Meyerhoff