Best Poems Written by Elizabeth Toler

The Loathsome Guest

Though once I sought for him as one seeks light,
Now Truth, as my own shadow, never strays.
He witnesses each anxious, sleepless night
And follows me through my unhappy days.
It has been years since I have been alone.
I feel him in the corner of my mind;
Horribly near, he stands as still as stone.
"Aren't I," he sneers, "what you wanted to find?"
He sickens me; I cannot meet his stare.
I long to overcome him, but such strength
And constancy are more than I can bare;
He knows that he will overcome at length.
I shut my eyes to his unholy dawn.
Truth folds his arms and yawns a patient yawn.

Copyright © Elizabeth Toler | Year Posted 2005