This Town Is For The Ghosts

To the past you never really leave behind.

I am a city soul,

Haunting a small and empty town.

Pieces of tomorrow,

Scattered across the here and now.

 

I caught the eye of a familiar stranger,

A thousand images and a flash of anger.

I lifted my hand a dared a wave.

He didn't look away.

 

If you fall asleep tonight I hope you dream with open eyes.

If you wake up to see the light I hope it's alright.

If you dream of things unseen I hope you question what it means.

If you wake up to see the light you'll know you're alive.

 

And that's what hurts the most.

We all know this town for the ghosts.

 

I am an aching soul,

Crying tears of tasteless wine.

Read a message someone wrote:

"Never look back and never look twice."

 

I caught the attention of the passers-by,

Screaming, swearing, my fist to the sky.

One by one they walked away.

Does nothing ever stay?

 

If you fall asleep tonight I hope you dream with open eyes.

If you wake up and see no light, I apologize.

If you dream of things unseen I cannot tell you what it means.

If you wake up and see no light, it means you've died.

 

And that's what hurts the most.

We all know this town is for the ghosts.

 

If you fall asleep tonight I hope you dream with open eyes.

Drown your dead in liquid black, then set fire to the night.

 

I'm the last one standing but I'm standing alone.

I've always known this town is for the ghosts.

Author's Note

This piece is about my town, and all of the people who live in it. As time goes on, they seem more like silhouettes than actual people, strangers rather than the friends I used to know. As we grow apart both emotionally and spiritually, I feel like I've crossed over somehow, as if I exist in different time than they do.

Reviews

[Bats In The Belfry]

I love it! Such vivid imagery and strong emotion. I can relate but what I like best is that you thought to put it in a poem.When ever I go home to the town I was born in, I pass by thinking of what used to be instead of what stands. What stands now seems wrong.I long for what used to be.

[Lonnie Paul Johnson]

Wow! Very good poem full of emotion and great wording.

[patricia]

you penned the estrangements very well, I liked this.

[Shy Girl]

Everytime I go back home to visit...the town DOES SO NOT feel the same. The peeps in it and the buildings are like strangers to me...This is such a relatable piece....wonderful expression and images that form from them :)

[Lily Mae]

I remember when I used to have such a different feeling about it ...a time when it would warm my heart and make me smile. And now it's turned into a vast empty void.. People don't even know how beautiful and serene it use to be..xo