{
 "id": "ambrose-bierce/a-guest",
 "title": "A Guest",
 "ordinal": null,
 "subtitle": null,
 "poet": "Ambrose Bierce",
 "poet_slug": "ambrose-bierce",
 "language": "en",
 "book": "Shapes of Clay",
 "book_slug": "shapes-of-clay",
 "book_kind": "volume",
 "sequence": 176,
 "container": "Shapes of Clay",
 "epigraph": null,
 "first_published": {
  "year": 1903,
  "venue": "Shapes of Clay (1903)",
  "note": "First located printing is this volume; an earlier periodical printing has not been established.",
  "uncertain": false,
  "sources": [
   "https://archive.org/details/shapesofclay00bier"
  ]
 },
 "source": {
  "kind": "standard-ebooks",
  "repo": "standardebooks/ambrose-bierce_poetry",
  "file": "shapes-of-clay.xhtml",
  "upstream": [
   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4793",
   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12658",
   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12977",
   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15599",
   "https://archive.org/details/collectedworksof04bierrich",
   "https://archive.org/details/collectedworksof05bierrich",
   "https://archive.org/details/collectedworksof08bierrich",
   "https://archive.org/details/shapesofclay00bier",
   "https://archive.org/details/blackbeetlesinam00bier",
   "https://archive.org/details/literarycalifor05mighgoog",
   "https://archive.org/details/cali07webb"
  ],
  "rights": "public domain (SE dedication; underlying text pre-1931)"
 },
 "verification": {
  "level": "structural-only",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-20"
 },
 "stats": {
  "n_lines": 18,
  "n_stanzas": 3,
  "n_parts": 0,
  "longest_line_chars": 46,
  "max_indent": 1
 },
 "site_ready": true,
 "parts": [],
 "stanzas": [
  [
   {
    "text": "Death, are you well? I trust you have no cough",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "That’s painful or in any way annoying⁠—",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "No kidney trouble that may carry you off,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Nor heart disease to keep you from enjoying",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "Your meals⁠—and ours. ’Twere very sad indeed",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "To have to quit the busy life you lead.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "You’ve been quite active lately for so old",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "A person, and not very strong-appearing.",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "I’m apprehensive, somehow, that my bold,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Bad brother gave you trouble in the spearing.",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "And my two friends⁠—I fear, sir, that you ran",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Quite hard for them, especially the man.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "I crave your pardon: ’twas no fault of mine;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "If you are overworked I’m sorry, very.",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "Come in, old man, and have a glass of wine.",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "What shall it be⁠—madeira, port or sherry?",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "What! just a mug of blood? That’s funny grog",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "To ask a friend for, eh? Well, take it, hog!",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ]
 ]
}