The Ghost Lady & Me

author’s note:

Maybe every place on earth is haunted, in one way or another.


THE GHOST LADY & ME

The desk clerk says:
people have often seen
the ghost lady
as she ascends this hotel stairway—
her steps heavy with grief.

I believe I know
the reason she doesn’t move on.

I believe, like me
she’s trying to reach a place
of perspective—a place
where we finally feel at peace
with losses that seem so unjust.

Occasionally I’m able
to rise that high.
But then my ego feels threatened
and begins to fight for survival

and in the spin of the ensuing battle
I will eventually trip and tumble

and go bump bump bump bump bump
back down the stairs.

Just as the ghost lady did
the night she died.
As she still does
every evening at this old hotel.

But despite our failure to hold the position
after we land, we always stand
and start the struggle
all over again—
because in those brief moments at the top
our hearts feel
the relief of freedom.

No, I may never be able
stay at that place of peace
on a permanent basis
but each time I climb
I grow a wee bit stronger—
so who knows?

So much joy to be found
in this stubbornness!—
I bet the ghost lady feels it
each night as she tries to rise
to a new life
at this grand antique hotel.

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