the man with many names
has come calling here again.
he took out the trash,
changed the sheets,
and asked me how i’ve been.
polite
tall
well-mannered
quiet.
he only wants to help—
considering what he knows
he has to do.
i listen to his stories
and offer him tea.
funny he should lead a life—
or existence, i suppose—
like that, and still see fit
to visit me.
my friends are all convinced
i’m dining with the devil.
but they can’t see:
sadness in his face,
regret, pain
from seeing too much.
they remember only who they’ve lost
and pity themselves—
unwilling to recall
that someone else
had to do the job.
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Marisca Pichette is a queer author of more than three hundred pieces of short fiction and poetry, appearing in Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Asimov’s, Nightmare Magazine, and many others. Her poetry collection, Rivers in Your Skin, Sirens in Your Hair, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker and Elgin Awards. Their eco-horror novella, Every Dark Cloud, is out now from Ghost Orchid Press. | |