Not An Exit

By John I. Blair

At the strip center post office
On a door, flat, gray, rectangular,
“NOT AN EXIT.”

Patiently awaiting turn
I ponder:
If not an exit, what?

A covert, garbled reference
To Sartre’s depressing parable
Of Hell as other people?

The people in this line
Seem reasonably nice;
Yet I must conclude

The sign’s a useful clue
That guards against an error
If I’ve an urgent need to leave

Should one among
The nice-appearing people
Prove they’re packing

Or the window clerk
(Already looking grim)
Decide today’s the day.

©2011 John I. Blair