A Ghost in Disguise.

A story was told, and they hung on your every word. But do they know that your words were half truths and full lies?

I am here, but you will never notice me. 

I exist only in your peripherals, but that's the way you want it to be. 

Even if you don't yet know it. 

You told the world about your unconditional love for me, and how true our love was. 

But I am only a Ghost. You never really knew me,

 and I guess that was my fault. 

You told them all a grand story, 

and painted me subtly as the monster.

 It was only by chance that I heard the hushed whispers. 

You were the victim and the hero in the those tales you twisted.

 Does it feel nice to be showered in attention? 

Pity and admiration. 

And oh how your audience flocks to hear your stories of woe. 

The pain you endured as you tried to love me, 

before suddenly 

I had left the scene so abruptly.

 But did I really disappear?

 No. 

I have always been here, 

but you never noticed me.

I had to die to live again, 

but I don't expect you to even try to really understand. 

Like a record, you replay my words, over and over again. 

Maybe it will take one more listen, 

for the message to fully sink in. 

But will you let them? 

I would like to think so, but my doubt is heavy.

 Because I know you would rather have the lie, 

than have the real me.

 And why? 

Because you know you could never have all of me, 

at least not the way you want me?

 And it would take all or nothing to make you happy.

 So you would rather tell the tale of how I died, 

and you narrate with great detail how you cried. 

But though I am nothing more than a Ghost in disguise,

 I am here,

 I am alive! 

Reviews

[Jordan Williams]

i really like this. something i struggle with in my relationships is wondering if people are really who they appear to be or not, and i think this touches on that, as well as how much of yourself you decide to show to others.

[Gh0st]

Thank you :) It does indeed touch on that, and also the lies told after a "relationship" ends. The pity parties people throw in the company of others to gain sympathy from them. The problem is, with this situation, there was never a romantic relationship. At least, not that I'm aware of. I don't need to get into specifics here, so I'll leave it at that. I think it's better off that way anyway.

[ATG]

A very well done poem. The content was pretty good and relatable to some degree. My only recommendation is to split the poem into multiple stanzas instead of one solid one. It would look and read a bit better.

[Gh0st]

Thanks for the review :D When I first wrote it, it wasn't meant to be a poem. Just some thoughts I needed to get out of my head. That's why it's so sloppy. I thought about going through and cleaning it up a bit, but I kind of like how messy it is. Given that the situation is overly complicated and hard to follow (even for me and I'm involved!) I'm not discouraged by the poem matching to a certain degree. Thank you for your honesty though, and again thanks for the review.

[ATG]

No problem. As I said, the poem is really good and it does have that feel of just getting something off your chest so that comes off fairly well. Hoping putting this poem to paper made you feel better about the situation.

[Jordan Williams]

stanzas do help the reader think that a poem is shorter or flows better. it can also add extra emphasis. for example, if you were to end a stanza with "But did I really disappear?" then start a new one with "No." it would create a bit of suspense and strengthens the fact that you didn't disappear. however, the most important thing as a writer is that you are satisfied by your own work. i think it works well both ways