Friends
It seems I am a most unwelcome guest.
I know that since I came you’ve been depressed.
Come, tell me what you do when happiest.
What music do you play, what drugs ingest?
Oh yes, I know, though you are self-possessed,
Grave troubles and great fears upset your rest.
There is no peace but in forgetfulness.
I’ve seen you struggling bravely. I’m impressed.
You live as though life were a deadly test.
You bully it, you beat it, you digest
Every monstrous thing it manifests.
You’ve built yourself this cozy little nest.
You paint a bit, you fiddle, you invest.
You seem a man not easily distressed.
A sensualist but rational. Obsessed
By nothing. Not a single thing. Unless
It be the sun. Its setting in the west.
Forgive me. Have I shocked you? I suggest
You may have something heavy on your chest.
Sit down. I haven’t come here to molest.
I will quit your home right now at your request...
It’s damn hard to explain. I’ll do my best.
The setting sun’s a horror WE detest!
And to the moon’s strange powers WE can attest!
I left my home last summer on a quest
To find ANOTHER man by wolf possessed—
To find an ally, find in life some zest!
Or face exile. Life in the wilderness.
You’re grinning. Does that mean you won’t protest
Carousing as a team? Fine! Let’s get dressed!
The possibility of a metaphorical reading wasn't so obvious in those days
