New Year Ghosts

“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await  another voice.”   T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

photo by Alina R.

You invited ghosts

to the New Year party

They made the other guests

feel loud and gaudy

with their quiet shadowy presence

We could barely hear ourselves talk

over their humming "Auld Lang Syne"

again and again, like sad chant

Remember 

when that girl wrote in your yearbook

"Plus ça change, plus ça reste la même?"

Well, I've been fighting that truth

ever since

I found new words,

a new voice,

a new sun to orbit

But you opened the attic

and let the ghosts escape

They glued hundreds of ripped pages

back onto the calendars

Tore out all of my bookmarks

so I had to reread from the beginning
They threw frail, faded petals
from old corsages
instead of confetti

And when it came time

to toast the New Year,

the wine had turned to vinegar.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Bits of Inspiration, Happy New Year

The Children's Hour *

image source

It's the Children's Hour again and the ghosts come out to play

Some must be coaxed from hiding spots

Some are loud and boisterous tots

We welcome them into our room

We don't shoo them away

At the Children's Hour

We build them altars out of clay

We paint their portraits with our crayons

With feathers, glitter, and glue

We construct our own memento mori

And decorate them with colorful beads

     to wear around our necks

At the Children's Hour

We are not afraid of ghosts here

We have seen them all

Even the monsters that live

in your dreams

And make you think of terrible things

That make you mad or make you scream

They're welcome here too

At the Children's Hour

Every ghost has a story to tell

Perhaps about heaven or maybe about hell

Even a silent ghost

Has a lot to say

At the Children's Hour

This poem was inspired by my work with a children's bereavement group through Hospice.

submitted for Poets United, Thursday Think Tank #39 - Ghosts