The Dance of the Ghosts

The dance of the ghosts In the fading twilight.
A bob of the head,
A whimper and cower,
The walls filled with whispers,
The door in a mirror,
Her eyes filled with blood,
Les yeux de la mort en azure.

The love was real
Immortal and sweet.
We cuddled with darkness
Advancing around us.
One hope,
One chance,
One slip through the cracks
In the wall and my fingers.

I woke and I ran,
I tried to catch up,
Tripping with every step,
Arrows from the tongue
Stinging the soul.
I died clutching for the mist
That was her green eyes.

Reborn yet still alone,
I saw her again.
The paintbrushed hair in reverse,
The mirrored temptation of shame,
The heartache of loneliness,
The beautiful angry lifeless eyes of love.

I hated her
As she danced on my grave
In the moonlight.
I laughed and I cried.
The friend I always wanted,
Not a real ghost,
But a ghost you can touch.
Those puppy dog eyes,
The ghost of a real ghost.

I slumber alone now
In my dark room
Forever and ever,
And adorning my tomb,
Is her beautiful dance,
The inscription which writes,
“Give me one ghost in place of another.”

– Voltaire

---

This work was originally released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

As of May 26, 2025, I am re-releasing it under the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0 1.0).

I hereby waive all copyright and related rights to the extent allowed by law. You are free to use, share, modify, remix, publish, perform, or build upon this work without any restrictions and without attribution.

This applies retroactively to this post and any version of the work it contains.

Let this be a gift to the commons —

No rights reserved.

— Charles Voltaire