turn out the lights

turn out the lights.
burn a few candles, say the words
(try to) conjure me up, darling
concentrate on my essence in the smoke,
because we’re all ghosts tonight. 

the dead drift downtown in
black shirts and scandalous jeans
scuffing their sneakers sadly
they leave their hearts in canopic jars
in the hands of the dearly departed.

i drift in limbo, walking our streets
in gray. when you pass
you disturb the electromagnetic fields holding me together,
and my substance disassembles.
we’re all haunted tonight. 

a broken oak rakes its fingers
across the moon. I let the wind moan
in my ribs. the temperature drops,
holding us in stasis.
the living lie and say they don’t believe
but they’ve seen our icy hands,
hungry eyes. 

i am transparent, trailing my fingers
through your breath and wishing I had
never left. I retrace my steps back up
to your room, over your creaking stairs-
can you hear me, sense me? or are you
absorbed in someone else?
we’re all damned tonight. 

october dies, the fires burn and
the sun fades. snow remembers cozying
up to gravestones. ghosts cluster
in search of warmth outside the windows. 

voiceless, I wait. I only want you to summon
me back into this life. start the electronic séance-
three magic words sweet as sugar
-i miss you-
press SEND- and end this all.
tonight before you sleep, picture me. conjure
my scars, the brush of my hair, my hipbones
and trusting eyes, until you can believe
i’m there next to you tonight
tonight we’re all just looking for contact.

---

Griffon Kaye is a night-shift lab technician with a BS in Genetics. She lives in Des Moines and moonlights by day as a creative type. Her work has appeared in Honey & Lime.