The Skeleton Key by Valerie Parente

The skeleton key
scares many men
afraid it will open
a sinister realm.

But the truth of a key
is in its protection
able to lock out
anything coming in.

Maybe the skeleton key
makes us so unrelaxed
because it proves there is more in common
between the trespasser and the trespassed.

– Valerie Parente (2-16-2024)