Mr. Problem

Mr. Problem

by Tim Reed

Some people have never seen him at all

Others grew up with him next door

Some people see him only once in a great while

Others seem to have a weekly appointment

Some people see him on the street and speed by

Others bury him in sports-cars, cigarette butts, cheap companionship, and glasses of wine

Some people spend their lives running

Others bury him in the closet or shed

Some people only see him at hotels or hospitals

Others as they pass a cross on the side of the road

Some people pretend he's a benign foe

Others elevate him to the role of Colossus

Some people visit him for a day or a week

Others for a month or a year

...and me? 

I know him very well

"How" you ask? 

He's the landlord

roommate 

and perpetual house-guest of whom I will never be free