The Doorstep Goodbye

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A modern fable in verse. Wise Monkey Wrought scroll N.005, "The Doorstep Goodbye." The visit ended at nine, in principle. The coats went on at twenty past. The car started at five to ten. The first goodnight went off at nine, a starting pistol, gently fired. Nobody moved. This was benign. More goodbyes had to be acquired. The hallway staged the encore round, the evening's summary, reviewed, one topic no one else had found, and biscuits, briefly re-pursued. No armistice was signed this fast. Whitehall has managed shorter wars. The parting, staged from first to last, was now conducted through car doors. The guests were gone by five to ten. The house went quiet at the door. The host sat down, stood up again. A scarf was lying on the floor. The goodbye took fifty minutes and ended on a promise to call. The scarf stayed to arrange the rematch.