CIGARETTE LIGHTER

By Jennifer-Lee Weldon

I guess we're all a little haunted,

A small amount,

A shadow,

Who has a soft glow around the corners,

And comes back to visit.

A piece of clothing in the wardrobe,

That dress you wore that evening,

And now you don't wear it anymore,

A part of you died with it,

Now you must part with it,

To move the ghosts along.

It's a little meticulous,

Sorting through our shadows,

Our mementos as far as nostalgia goes,

Parts of us that didn't grow,

So they have to go,

And it leaves us,

Haunted.

Are our shadows a part of our soul?

Do they define how we interact with the ghosts,

Or do they simply deprive us of growth?

Should we keep them close?

Like a cigarette lighter ignites the flame that grows,

And catches on papers and the curtains and pillows,

And all the stressors and all the memories and all the ghosts,

They float away,

Up into the beams they rose,

And then you vacate the room and say a prayer as you go.

#darkpoetsclub