Linger

The past can't be forgotten.

Whisper in my ear

the shadow of the past.

No, no!

It can’t be,

but it is.

The way I am

is who I once was

so long ago in that

black-and-white film

of the past.

 

Memories jilt to life,

flickering and flashing

and silently haunting.

What have I done?

What have I done?

Feeling of disgust.

Remorse. Guilt. Revulsion. Hate.

Linger underneath the surface.

I can’t escape

their accusations.

The facts. The truth.

My own lies.

 

They linger yet.

I can never forget

what I have done.

Author's Note

This past week, I finished my first Stephen King novel "The Shining." Throughout the book, there is a single powerful theme of lingering "ghosts" of the past. This is inspired by those memories that stain the Overlook and can never be forgotten because of that stain.