He Comes In As

he comes in as


he comes in as
politely as
unexpected

he always takes
off his shoes
before entering

he arms himself with
the oldest knock
in the world

he understands
the word no
with comfortless
clarity, and

after all these years

he still dulls
the pain
with two shots
of salvation before
falling asleep
with his shoes on

Yi-Ching Lin

Posted over on her site Yi's Bits on "Healthy Doses"