The Passing of Ghosts

Written May 22, 2020
​We were out on Lake Erie all day yesterday fishing and playing and breathing in the air, which even a 1000 meters from shore was thick with the sweet scent of blossoms.
 
The Passing of Ghosts
 
I can’t remember the last time
the savage thaw fell out of my mouth
 
and little white hot balls of Sol
bled from my freezing fingertips
 
the cold muttering of Winter undone,
always much more than the carving
 
left behind by the dirty melt,
sleety runoff and exacting ghosts
 
 with more stamina than I.
Spring needs immense energy having
 
suffered from such cold neglect, 
having forgotten it’s sturdiness
 
that Winter often lacks
scentless and remote, it strides
 
heedlessly past my hibernating
specters begging for release.
 
In Winter dying is the only way out
and every departure is layered
 
in self knowledge and will
reducing me to essential elements.
 
I hold these spirits, gaze into their eyes,
abandon perspective, intoxicated and
 
heady from blossom scent
1000 meters off shore
 
an unseen thing bounding
across my lake. My arms held high
 
eyes closed to the murmuring
of Winter borne, in this way I am
 
able to feel the passing of ghosts.
Spring is a supremely jealous thing.
 
Pic is Starve Island, Lake Erie. It’s locally known as Death Reef since it will kill your boat dead if you happen upon it during a moment of inattention or if you forget to inquire about local charts

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