I'm the king of a distant land
adjacent to those of friends
with one difference I'll point out
it’s the spirits I embrace

filled with ghosts all can see
reality for the rest of them
yet they haunt my waking life
too visible yet still not there

hands extended and then felt
by my fellows and my chums
while only breezes touch my skin
when the same tries to caress

intangible to my dismay
tears more real than coddled love
when the veil becomes too sheer
ephemeral becomes the norm

this royalty sits on a throne
alone with only shadows held
phantoms hover close to mind
while the same is near at hand

perhaps in time I’ll step down
join my friends away from spooks
no longer will the visions haunt
enfold the world when spirits bolt.

© 2017. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20171019.