Today, I’m sharing one of my earliest published poems. It was one of the first that came to and through me after maybe a decade (?!) of not really writing poetry and definitely not sharing poetry.
A Poem
No Ghosts, He Says
My partner says there are no ghosts here. He grew up in a place where the Spiritual world kissed the living. With sirens and zombies, and salt circles, and magik. I grew up in one where death and the soul Were not polite dinner conversation. He says it’s too clean and built up here Or something like that. What are ghosts, I ask, at the core? Are they not beings violated, seeking peace and closure for this world? If so, we must have ghosts here– Of women burned for their words, Black children robbed Of their future and genius, People of this land forced to March to near disintegration. Though we walk past without seeing, This nation must be teeming with spirits In water coolers, construction Sites, beer booths, dentist chairs, conference rooms, parking garages, Sidewalks, gardens. And mustn’t it gut the spirits and us both, To imagine they’re a fantasy?
Where it came from
This poem came from a conversation with my partner, Patrick. I can’t remember where we were or how we got to this topic, but we were talking about spirits and he said offhand that there were no ghosts in the United States. Growing up, people in his life had experiences with ghosts, zombies and sirens. These stories and spirits are very present in Haiti, in daily conversation.
In the U.S. we are much less comfortable talking about death and what becomes of us after. And unlike many other countries, we do not often acknowledge or memorialize the many people who have died and been killed in horribly unsettling and unjust ways. But if there are ghosts and if ghosts are seeking peace, closure, or justice, I think we must have many from across U.S. history.
Given that logic, I believe in ghosts. Emotionally, I believe in ghosts. And I don’t think they are confined to any one country.
It’s an ongoing difference of opinion between us. Though we did find some consensus when we visited New Orleans earlier this year—a place in the U.S. that also reminds Patrick of home.