Under lock and key
The door is heavy
and it is locked.
I have the key, the only key.
It hangs at all times
from a chain around my neck,
a cold iron weight.
What lies behind the door?
A small, dark room.
I know because
I have been inside.
So I know what
is kept in that room.
In fact, I put it there myself.
I made sure that
the door was stout,
the lock was sound
and I had the only key.
Never again will I
unlock the door, or
enter the room, or
examine what is kept there.
That is my firm intention.
Then why not
throw the key away?
After all, it does
weigh heavily upon my chest.
I dare not. I would not want
anyone to find the key
and unlock what
is best kept undisturbed.
Could’ve sworn I commented on this yesterday… probably user error.
A very intriguing poem, Jonathan, I like the mystery of what lies in the room not being revealed. I wondered if it would add to the tension if it was tightened up here and there.
Do you need ‘So’ in line 11 and ‘in fact’ in line 13? Is ‘That is my firm intention.’ adding anything extra to what has immediately preceded it? I love the weight of the key and its metaphor. Could you lose ‘find the key/and’ in the last three lines?
Having used my metaphorical blue pen I think it’s a great poem!
I see what you mean, but I think I’ll leave these words in – to me, they help conjure up the
pedantic/obsessive/deranged quality of the poem.