Monday, August 9, 2010

Better Feed the Ghost

Better Feed the Ghost

We feed the ghosts
as if they were strays, other
people’s pets. Daily
we call them into the yard,

affixing the idea of them
to habits. Better feed the ghost:
we never need the reminder,
so fully are they incorporated

into how we hear thoughts.
We feel responsible
for ghosts; we didn’t make them,
but they were bestowed

upon us. They feel familiar.
Some are made of helium.
Others are made of paper, pine
needles, plywood, iron.

A ghost’s weight fluctuates
based on what you plate for it.
Just keep on feeding it,
and you will never be alone.

5 comments

  1. Yesterday one of my ghosts kept me pinned to my chair or the bed. I couldn't tell for sure which ghost it was - depression or need to read this book.

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  2. Would we rather have ghosts or real people to keep us from being alone? I wonder.

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  3. Did you ever read Maxine Hong Kingston's book, "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts"? This poem made me think of it.

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  4. My ghost argues with me a lot, and sometimes tires me but at least I am not alone! To ghosts! xoxo

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  5. Interesting thinking of ghosts as making us feel less alone with that picture suggesting absence not presence.

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