Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Wandering shadows drift upon my street,
They stop outside my door begin to speak:
Halum hecat.

They peer through glass as though they see my face,
They wave at me as if to call my name,
And with dry voices whisper through the space:
Nehim ruhat.

Perhaps I should be gripped by dreadful fear,
Hide in my bed beneath the blankets tight,
Scream out and wake, relieved to find it clear—
It was a dream, a fragment of the night.

But I feel no fear. Instead, I’m curious,
And like a dream, I slowly start to drift
Toward those shadows, whispering to us:
Sahat lehud.

A shiver runs through every vein and bone,
I press my palm against the icy pane,
And from the shadows, rising like a moan:
Khalim tahud.

I see a thousand shadows writhe in night,
They signal me, they press against the glass,
And from their whispers, delicate yet slight,
A single voice like balm begins to pass:
Tahil latham.

Perhaps a dying soul’s faint shadow calls,
Or one unborn, whose heart has yet to beat.
And something in me rises, breaking walls—
I answer in their tongue, obscure, discreet:
Tahat naham.

Then I dissolve into the misted pane,
I pass beyond into the frozen dark.
And I become a shadow lost, profane,
To roam the streets forever, without spark.

And I will softly cry:
Naum tahit.

And I will cry aloud:
Halum hecat.
Windy winter day,
You walk alone in the white and gray.

I walk four paces far from you,
A ghost in the snow's fair ballet.

A bitter breeze blows from the west,
Interrupted by my wispy form.

Graces your rosy cheek,
And you turn to where the winds came from.

Squinting through the blinding snow,
You stare right at me.

And for a moment I think you know,
That I am here, a winter's ghost.
This is a letter I found sitting in a desk drawer of an old house in the Genesee river country. Or at least that's how it reads.
TonyNoon Jan 11
Forget the book and candle.
The creaking comes with age.
You know those rattling panes
are taunted by branches left
uncut by you in lazy summer.

Do not lock the door and run.
Ghosts are particular. Always
with us, they thrive in three-ply
boxes, and in packed suitcases.
When you are ready, they are too.


Tony Noon
Anais Vionet Dec 2024
yin
I see them in reflections - the orange juice glass at breakfast or my iPhone where they can pop-up, like notifications - I keep my phone face down.

They usually want to tell you something - how it was for them - their history. I discount these emotional messages - they come with the jester's assumption that I care - that I need the performance and will get involved.

“What are you doing?” My mom asks, as I’m taking all the shiny, mirror-like ornaments off the Christmas tree.
“The glare gives me a headache” I say, without stopping.
“Your Grandma does that too”, she says, wiping her hands on a Santa-themed dishtowel.
“Really?” I say, but I know that, and I know why.

I started having nightmares, when I was in first grade. My mom thought I had an overactive imagination but when she described it to my grandma, she soon showed up for a visit.

Over the next few weeks my Grandma told me about our “gift”. About how we were both born on the same day, under a waning third moon, in Autumn. That we're both “Yins,” doxies (sweethearts) of the dead and that we could, at times, see and hear people who were between stops on their way to their afterlives.

That’s why the dead parachute into my unused moments from reflective surfaces. They can be anxious or in despair - when their deaths were cruel or sudden - but I'm barely an adult - I'm in school - what can I do??

The presence of water discourages them - which is perfect - can you imagine seeing spirits in the reflections of your bath? EEUUUWWW!  
You’ll hardly ever see me without a water bottle or polarized sunglasses - which seem to break up the images. I'll not be smothered in other people's afterlives.
Growing up, I lived in China, my Huàn gōng (au pair) would entertain us with tales from Chinese folklore like wandering ghosts (You *** ye gui) and the Yins who could communicate with them.
Flea Dec 2024
The spectres of the past 

That haunt me 

Causing me extreme pain that 

I feel I can not handle 

At the moment 

But I know I 

Will oust these ghosts

From my life

Not the other way around
amelie Nov 2024
i don't think you'll ever leave me
you'll always be there
like a ghost in my life
or shampoo in my hair

i feel your cold presence
when i step in that room
i hear your eerie voice
when i smell that perfume

my friends write it off
as me going crazy
but they don't hear your voice ring,
calling me baby

i thought ghosts were a con
still have your ring tired to my finger
can't stop my life but can't move on
not now, not when you still linger
Nick Moore Feb 2013
Come to me,
Don’t be afraid of me,
I need to know
The things

The things
You could tell me,
So don’t hold back from me

I will try,
Try not to be afraid of you,
Of what my imagination
Thinks you can do

Are you afraid of me?
Of what you think I maybe?

Trust is something we must trust in

So come to me,
As I come to you
Mark Wanless Nov 2024
id was created
by ego go figure just
a fell ghost to blame
Kian Nov 2024
...𝑰𝑻 𝑭𝑰𝑳𝑳𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑶𝑳𝑳𝑶𝑾 𝑷𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑬𝑺




Your fingers traced the edge of my jaw,
and I could feel the galaxies ripple beneath your touch.

We exist in fragments—pieces of memories we never spoke aloud.

I think we’ve both been running too long,
chasing echoes that dissolve before they’re fully formed.

But there’s something divine in the way you linger,
like a prayer unfinished, a truth unspoken.

I let you in, just far enough to feel the pull of your ache.

We are nothing more than ghosts in each other’s veins,

but god, how real it feels


when your hand finds mine in the dark.
M Nov 2024
last month i summoned a ghost to haunt my own house

i could tell you why, but i don't think i know

i could i wanted something to point at and say
that's what hurt me, that's what did it

something you would blame at my wake
while you gather around and call me a fighter
gather round and call me brave

selfishly, i wanted to make a big deal
but in the end i felt too bad to make one
i didn't scream beg
tears in my eyes as i look at the camera
ask the audience for penance, ask for god

in the end, it got me quietly
i thought about waving my arms so you would see but
i waited too long to decide that
so you didn't see me through the window, pulled apart by some unseen force, some malevolent creature that got the best of me

so at my wake you will call me quiet
you will call it a surprise
you will still call me brave
i will not see, how would i know when

i left when i said i would when
i meant it when i told you i
wasn't coming back for what i left behind
Next page