the clergy came
to repossess
my demons today
they stood stoically
in all black
little white inserts
at the collar
somber men
of the cloth
here to do
serious business

i told them
i wasn’t home
as i eyeballed them
through
the peephole

persistent bastards
tenacious even
i drained nearly
an entire bottle
of red
as they prayed
loudly in latin
all while pounding
on the door
with rosary beads

when it finally
quieted down
i snuck out the window
climbed down
the rusted fire escape
went to the corner store
to get more wine
they’d be back
and we weren’t ready
to give up
that easily

what would i have
without my demons?

and what about
those poor exorcists?

in this economy
every little bit
helps