Don’t Hide the Madness

betcha it’s closed up already, can tell from way over here, no, keep moving in to see, still a chance it’s open, no, already said, been closed for a while now, house number’s faded away, no, look, exert the eyes, there’s some message in chalk, just the scribbling of those kids, no, still a chance someone’s there, go ahead and knock then, hear the echo, that’s it, not so, the echo of a knock is just the knock itself, already said, no one at all’s there, no, listen, open the ears, there’s some response from within, just the stray whistling of a wild wind, no, still a chance there’s, hey, watch through the crack, the curtains are fluttering, there’s got to be something inside, of course there’s something inside, is there anything that hasn’t got something inside, no, don’t play like that, perhaps it’s a cat, not at all, just the wind pounding, no sense in wind pounding some place where no one is, oh hell, when isn’t wind senselessly pounding some place where no one is, no, sniff it in, apply the nose, there’s a certain smell emanating, oh hell, when isn’t a certain smell emanating, but definitely must be something though, air doesn’t spontaneously emanate a certain smell, just some mold wafting around, can tell even without smelling, no, stand right here, linger a bit, feel this lock, not a speck of dust, someone must be often coming and going, ludicrous, it just rained, the rain washes clean, who’d want to pass through here for anything anyway, even the keyhole is rusted, what key would fit, no, look closely here, watch this hole, the shadow of someone just glided by, the curtain is swaying there, go on and push, don’t, let’s go, let’s just go, don’t push, this house seems about to collapse, or can circle around to find another way in, don’t, let’s go, let’s just go, who knows what in heaven or earth might happen, go, let’s go, what’s the use of standing here, there’ll be no one who opens, no one who one steps in, who’d want to pass through here for anything anymore anyway, not opening once more ever again, certainly not, a hundred times not, a thousand times not, absolutely not, how to keep opening more, what’s left to keep wanting to open more for you to go in, it was your very hand that locked it, it was you who turned away, it was you who abandoned everything across seasons of wind and rain, it was you who gave up the key, no, not one last chance remains, keep knocking forever, it’s all the same, to push any further is to collapse it, leaving only the figure behind, everything, an illusory scene, a self-displayed fantastical feeling, do not touch, to touch is to collapse, it’s you, derelict thing, a kind of noxious secretion, an evil curse, with guts enough to keep standing there or what, no, too far gone already, too long a while already, the house is done for, everybody is done for, this entire village here is done for, or it’s you, already done for, completely done for, don’t knock anymore, there’s nothing to knock on anymore, there’s just one thing that can enter here, just one thing, there’s one, there’s just, just . . .