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Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. Leonard Cohen

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Ghosts Are Not Speaking

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The ghosts are not speaking
If you could see them
     (which you can not)
you would see them sitting
     (perhaps hovering is a more correct descriptor)
on wrought iron benches
back to back.
You would also notice
their crossed arms,
noses and chins pointed skyward with
righteous indignation.
These ghosts carry a grudge like 
others carried the ball and chain.
They have been bickering since 1897
The dead ignore them
The living are oblivious unless
they stir up too much of a fuss
     upset a flower pot or
     scare a horse
Most days, however, are spent in
quiet and purposeful disregard.
Neither actually remembers
the slight
but each ghost knows in her restless soul
that the other is at fault
and that it had something to do with
     evening gowns
     hurricanes
     and lemon chess pie.
So, the ghosts are not speaking
but if you could see them
     (which you can not)
you would see
at the corner of each one's mouth
a very
slight
grin.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to put life into fog... What's lemon chess pie?

JustRex said...

That was great. I could see them perfectly in my mind even if in my eyes, I could not.

Brian Miller said...

haha what a fanciful ghost tale...i know it was the lemon chess cake too...dang it...

Brian Miller said...

ha what a a fanciful ghost story...i knew it was the lemon chess cake...dang it...really nice write...

Fireblossom said...

Uh huh, they're getting something out of it or they wouldn't do it so enthusiastically!

Christine said...

the fog will smell sweet as lemon pie, after reading this one

not displayed said...

Love it. Thankyou

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! And so fitting for the prompt.

Barbara, via Write on Edge said...

Oh my! I LOVE!

Especially the ending:
"but each ghost knows in her restless soul
that the other is at fault"

"at the corner of each one's mouth
a very
slight
grin."

Seems like they are two good friends underneath all that enmity and will happily argue for the rest of eternity~

Katie @ Chicken Noodle Gravy said...

I absolutely love this! It's lyrical and fun. What's better than a bunch of annoyed spooks?! Not much, I'd say. Nice take on the prompt, very unique!

Erin said...

This is fantastic! Just reading the title gave me goose bumps and it was such a great read! I could see them too, even though I can't!