An Uninvited Guest Poem by Leonard Dabydeen

AN UNINVITED GUEST

Let me visit you today

let me be an uninvited guest

for I do not know

what fortitude or good luck

will knock at my door tomorrow

our destiny is guided

by the dreams we pursue

and we must be prepared

for what tomorrow brings

with or without an invitation

even if you don't know me

let me be an uninvited guest

I am here to wish you farewell

even though I know this is not

your final resting place

Forest Lawn Mausoleum

will keep us remembering

your footprints in the journey

of your mysterious, yet illustrious life

let me be an uninvited guest

so that I can watch over you

like the invitees here today

let me be your leonardo da vinci

and participate

in the last supper

of your Michelangelo

let me be an uninvited guest

holding your torch

with flickering flames

of pop music

I am waiting to see

if Sammy Davis Jr.

or Nat King Cole

will find your presence

a thriller

when you do the moon-walk

not knowing

if you are black or white

or an uninvited guest.