subtext

• •

Haunted

The ghosts have returned.

Along an edge, they tremble

into view, then vanish,

if I turn to look. 

It is best I ignore them,

as they roll and tumble

near my hesitant feet.

I fear to step on them.

They are soft like kittens,

but with longer memory,

and a sharper clarity.

Details bend, slowly feel 

their way, to insert tendrils

along darker fissures

to occupy spaces reserved

for conflicts of the present,

but now quiver gently

with decades of regret.

(October 30, 2025)