Tag Archives: ghosts
some lone ghost
He said to his love,
I will still
these obstinate questionings
of yours and mine
by forcing some lone ghost,
some lost messenger,
to render up the tale
of what we are.
But she replied,
and what makes you think
they’ll know the answer?
– percy at shadow of iris
some lone ghost
[Creatively adapted from Percy Bysshe Shelley's Alastor]
image
I look at my own image
and wonder
at this shady character;
he’s not the one I see everyday
in my own mind’s eye.
I’m a ghost
hovering among spirits
constantly buoyed
by the wind
of their emotions.
– matt at shadow of iris
image
it’s been a year now
It’s been a year now
since you left me
I’m scrambling
to join the rank and file
thousands
out there in parks
on street corners
and in houses
of ill repute.
I’ve still got
that creeping feeling
that all is not well
and I’m floating through
a rally of ghosts
unnoticed by the living.
Strong networks
they protest my presence
and pull at me in all directions
I’m well-publicized
and protested
yet inside of me there’s nothing
for I’m invisible
from the outside in.
– matt at shadow of iris
it'sbeenayearnow
holding on
Holding on
inside me
a voice singing
a moment of time
frozen
sprawled out
the God given truth
made as clear
as an instant.
Bat wings that swirl
a creature of night
a primordial essence
stretching back
to a time before time
where the intellect falters
the heart fails
and all that’s left
is rivulets
of pure fear.
Smoke
moving upwards
disintegrating into the night.
A ghost sits next to you
this is the ghost of yesterday
he holds tomorrow in his hand
but when you reach for it
he snatches it away
the breath of his movement
a cold snap
a hallow feeling
leaving you so still
a single touch
could shatter you.
– matt at shadow of iris
holding_on
the disappearance
Ghosts came unawares
and began to gnaw away
at the old house in queer places
so that even while the two chimneys
continued to pour out thick black smoke
pieces of the house began to drip away
and in the swirling mixture of melt
shuddersome faces looked out
and burst into a peculiar song
of piquant pang and penitence
as the house casually began to slide
down a hill
and from this world
to the next.
A prayer vigil for victims
as forensic testing continues
and investigators try to determine
the cause of
the disappearance.
– matt at shadow of iris
the disappearance
[Inspired by the work of Esao Andrews.]
murmurs and shrapnel xxvii
Up there
where the small pines
grow but sparsely
last night
a large ghost ship
with a broken hull
and torn sails that blow in the wind
like strands of tangled blood red hair
crashed into the crest of a hill
and lies there now
jagged and worn
under the morning sky
bleak and dark
under brewing storm clouds.
Naval forces
pirate flagged cargo
for personal needs
and yet are hijacked themselves
out in the west seas
where the waters tug and pull
everyone
under.
– matt at shadow of iris
murmurs and shrapnel xxvii
[This poem was inspired by the work of Esao Andrews.]
murmurs and shrapnel xiv
The old man holds
a chain in his mouth
that chain leads
to your soul.
Laboring
struggling to get near
sneaking past security
to hold you once again
let the world pass us by
I’ll still have you.
A box, coffin sized
and made of stone
floats across the sky
catching souls
like
flies to flypaper.
For the good of the nation
be gracious in your defeat
applaud your leader
as his boot comes down
into your face
and
wipe that egg off your face
look spiff.
Yesterday collapses
into today
and I am left
joining with
the fading form of you
as you slowly dissolve
into the dust.
Top racketeers insist
new law enforcement procedures
will cost them dearly
and insist upon
a grace period
while they make
adjustments.
Ships that come at night
bear haunting figures
you will see only once
and never again
giant lanky ghosts
holding dim torches
lead you home.
Toxic fear
radiation seepage
spreading
faster than
heat or light
the terror
of a gentle snow fall
that turns into ashes.
The rider you cannot see
rides a headless mount
across the bones and dust
of yesterday
and prophesizes
the coming of the one
who will save us all.
– matt at shadow of iris
