Letter to a Ghost

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Letter to a Ghost

Had I not dreamed your death, I would have praised this day.
Your name rests in a wooden box on a desk

in a room far away and twice as old as we were then.
My penance in this phase: to continue.

I gather words close and refrain from admissions.
The clock on the wall seldom chimes,

like one whose vows circumvent convenience, or
a shade allowing the barest sliver of light

through the window. That tock preceding
a long silence. Snow blanketing the mounded earth.

Your scent never lingers past sleep, where you remain.
At last I no longer covet those sheets you’ve shared.

Your name rests in a box. I gather words and refrain.

ghost

217 thoughts on “Letter to a Ghost”

  5. Pingback: Letter to a Ghost | Celfypridd

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  14. Captivating and elegant, and slightly bittersweet, yet I love the closure – the sense of finally being able to let go and let the memory sit, without feeling the attachment stirring the spirit. Truly beautiful journey.

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  25. Thank you for the liking a post I made recently, on a blog that I never imagined anyone else would see. Imagine how humbled I was when I read through some of your pieces, elegantly precise and cutting to the bone. You are an inspiration to a fledgling writer such as myself!

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  27. I like the way you put interior consciousness into a dialogue with self and the other. The poem is melancholic, psychoanalytically speaking a longing for something which is too ideal to be obtained, Anand Bose from Kerala

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  30. I am stunned by your work, Robert. Just stunned, as you could tell from my earlier comment on Bread. This, too, is yet another stunning piece of wordsmithing. I remember once, when a friend read my first (now self-published) novel, how she commented that I was, in fact, a “wordsmith”. The phrase has always haunted me because it seems to speak so highly of the accomplished author. You are, truly, a wordsmith, Robert. And I am honoured to be making your acquaintance here on WordPress.
    Best,
    Darren.

    Liked by 3 people

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