Occasional Impressions

Gemini 3

The Ghost

The ghost wants to know what's going on.
He wakes in bed and crosses the hall
to gargle at the sink, tap the clock
then wind it. Bolts his bowl of porridge
and smacks his lips. ‘So tasty’,
the only words he ever says.
Unsheathes his brolly from the elephant’s foot
and turns at the door for Mary
to straighten his tie. His face creases.
Where’s his wife? Turning again,
he frowns at the doorway. Where’s the world?
Nothing. Around him, concrete things dissolve
for another daily round, till he wakes
between the sheets again,
with his morning habits
coiled like a spring inside.
The trapped ghost wants to know what’s going on.

ijf

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