The Bell-Ringer

Boy rings the bell,

then runs away.

(Does he wish to see you?

Yea? or Nay?)

He might like to know
that the doorbell can ring,
that the lady comes running
when she hears it sing.

Perhaps he believes that
the lady is silly,
her brain pricked by hairpins,
mind fluffy and frilly.

Or maybe he wishes to
test the door,
to ensure that each ring
flings it open once more.

Bell and door proven sound,
he never stays --
just bolts like the wind
in a dusty haze.

What bell-ringer seeks,
nobody knows.
But he tests bells and doors
wherever he goes.