He can still catch a fly

He can still catch a fly

Take it cleanly out of the sky

Cup it in his hand.

Squish.

He doesn’t worry about Karma

Well, not too much,

When it is the nature of apex

Behaviour to kill

Although he does try to nurture

More than indifference

To the natural world

And never tries to feed a Venus Flytrap

As they don’t seem to recover

From the shock of penetration.

The woman at the door

Carried her concern

About breaking and entering

In a sheaf of papers

Tucked under her arm.

She wore a heart on her sleeve.

He invited her in

Not wanting to seem antisocial

Said the spider to the fly

But left the door open.

You can never be too careful.

She wanted to build a contact register

As older people were at risk

Of falling between the cracks

Too many old dears caught outside

On the wrong side of the door

Without a key.

He expressed his support

For her concern

But the thought of sharing his details

Over a cup of tea

With a bunch of strangers

Wearing stretchy pants

And sun visors

Felt too intrusive.

It was bad enough that he used social media

As a means of missed opportunity

Without inviting

The outside world into his nest.

Too many cuckoos

For his liking.

Of course, she meant well

And smiled a lot

But her teeth were crooked

Which led him to think about

Health insurance and orthodontic

Braces

And it was difficult to focus

On her words

Without staring.

There was a moment,

Just after the second cup

When she looked to be expecting a third

That he began to resent

Opening the door

And relief when he closed it again.