i used to think i was haunted.
the worlds i'd left behind
would come back in letters,
infrequent in their passings
but notable nonetheless.
their eyes would stare into mine
and wordlessly convey those secrets
i so desperately desired to know.
these ghosts would later on
take forms of their own
of children i could've known.
i threw the letter away,
thinking they would stop if I did,
but their apparitions remained.
their longing lamentations
linger in my mind.
i'm still haunted in a way, I suppose.
(written in september of 2023)