Lindon, "Doppelganger"

Entering the lonely house with my wife,
      I saw him for the first time
    Peering furtively from behind a bush--
            Blackness that moved,
      A shape amid the shadows,
    A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
      Revealed in the ragged moon.
    A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
    Put him to flight forever--
      I dared not
    (For reasons that I failed to understand),
      Though I knew I should act at once.

    I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
    Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
      He came, and I saw him crouching
            Night after night.
            Night after night
      He came, and I saw him crouching,
    Watching the woman as she neared the gate.

    I puzzled over it, hiding alone--
      Though I knew I should act at once,
    For reasons that I failed to understand
                I dared not
            Put him to flight forever.
    A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
      Revealed in the ragged moon
    A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes,
      A shape amid the shadows,
            Blackness that moved.

    Peering furtively from behind a bush,
      I saw him, for the first time,
    Entering the lonely house with my wife.


James A. Lindon

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