Elegy For A Ghost

 

Some say ghosts are chilling things

Ethereal and fleeting

But they’re not

 

They are the empty chair

The pint not bought in a round

The hiss at the end of a telephone line

The deleting of a mobile number

 

They are the sad spaces

That once held you

On the terraces

At the bar

In the conversation

 

Ghosts are sad things

They hold no threat

They do not wish you harm

They are just

The unfulfilled potential

The lack of a punch-line

A missing jigsaw piece

When the puzzle is complete

 

I leave a pause

So you can finish my sentence
I nearly buy an extra coffee

And leave it there

To look at

While I drink mine

 

You are now a ghost

I catch you in the corner of my eye

When I least expect it

I hear your voice

In familiar phrases

And familiar places

 

Some say ghosts are chilling things

Ethereal and fleeting

Mine is not

Mine is in the remembering

Mine is                       a friend…