Ring and Wait, Red Eye

I pressed the button, heard the chime,

a small, electric, hollow sound.

Then silence settled, marking time,

no footfall stirred, no one was found.

The porch light cast a yellow glow

upon the paint, too clean and still.

A security camera, slow

red eye, watched from the window sill.

I waited, just a minute more,

my breath held tight, a useless plea.

That quiet, unresponsive door,

it had no message left for me.

Just the long space between the ring

and nothing. Just the turning back.

Another small, forgotten thing,

falling through some unnoticed crack.