The $5 Ghost
My sister bought a ghost for five dollars.
Her friend arranged the sale and gave us
specific directions which we followed precisely.
First we wrote a welcoming letter to the ghost.
At 8 o’clock we opened the front door an inch
and placed the note beside a candle. We sat
in the hallway for a while, lit by the yellow glow.
We were tuned to the ghost frequency, listening
for the smallest sigh or voice, jumping at flickers.
I guess we were expecting a ghost to arrive with
a suitcase. I know I was. It was easy to believe
in that. But after waiting a while, my sister gave up
grabbed the letter and stormed to the phone.
Maybe we were swindled. It’s hard to tell
when you’re buying something invisible
and just because you don’t see what
you expected doesn’t mean something
didn’t happen. Who knows?
I shut the door, blew the candle out
and carried the smoke with me.
drawings by Rustle and Rosaanother chapter selection from
the autobiography I've been working on.
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