Do Not Answer The Door

Do Not Answer The Door

The knock arrived without sound,

Yet every object heard it.

Cups trembled where they stood,

Dust lifted like breath.

I did not move at first,

Stillness felt like obedience.

The door remembered hands,

Long after they were gone.

Light near the frame thinned,

As though escaping quietly.

Even time leaned away,

Unwilling to be present.

I thought of opening once,

The thought alone caused pressure.

The lock warmed in response,

Metal learning fear.

Outside did not feel empty,

It felt arranged and waiting.

Something stood where sight fails,

Practising my name.

The house held its breath,

Floors tense beneath my weight.

Walls shifted slightly inward,

Choosing a side.

I stayed exactly where I was,

Let minutes pass unclaimed.

Whatever waited grew patient,

Confidence is never rushed.

Some doors are not barriers,

They are agreements with dark.

Tonight I did not answer,

And the house approved.