If I stand still

If I stand still

Barely breathing

Perfectly immobile

Pretending to be dead

Covered with a white cloth

An old statue

In a stately home

Closed up for the winter

The family

Safely ensconced in Mayfair

For the season

Do they still do debutant balls?

White-faced girls

Dreaming of a prince

Or princess

Whatever shakes their tree

It's a buyer's market

For the pure of heart.

Only the lonely

See the truth of it

Cattle and sheep

Perhaps if I fall asleep

I will wake up

And she will be gone

I’ve done it again

Mistaken good manners

For real interest

Said hello to a stranger

Wished I hadn’t

In my head

I have invited her

To dinner

She said no

Worse still

She said yes

I was born premature.

If I stop breathing

Perhaps I will go unobserved

The invisible man

Wearing glasses,

But no bandages