FOOTSTEPS

(for Mary)

Who is it?
Right outside my door
Footsteps getting nearer
then silence once more.

What do they want?
Right outside my door!
Peering in at me
through the shuttered blind
Here I am!
Have you come to find
me?

Footsteps thundering
when the alarm bells ring
they run, then stop,
laughing hysterically -
What relief!
The patient breathes!
And all is quiet again.

No, I recognise no-one's feet
Right outside my door
Are they friendly feet?
Or scary feet?
Will they want more
blood?

Oh how I wish I had a twin
Who could stand guard outside my door
and whisper when they're coming in
and when I can ignore
the clicking, the tapping,
the shuffling, the stop
and starting
of strange feet
outside
my door.