Ghosts In My Room by Valerie Parente

I see ghosts in my room
maybe because I have room for them too
they flicker and repeat like static on TV
and I’m not sure why I can see these figures in front of me
but it happens in the middle of the night, every single week.

I feel like the images I perceive
are from a dimension I shouldn’t see
always a body without a face
shadowy figures with no name
hosting a sentience in their flashing shapes.

Sometimes it’s one figure, sometimes it’s two or three
No matter the amount they’re always unique
a defining trait like a baseball cap or bangs
they always move in a particular way
and I can’t tell if they know they’re in my space.

When I see those ghosts in the night
my recurrent thought is, “You know I can see you, right?”
it almost seems like they don’t realize where they are
and I’m not sure why all of a sudden they turned up
but they’ve been showing up ever since my greatest loss.

After two months I asked one beside my bed
“How are you?” to the flashing silhouette
it gave me the middle finger
another motion in flickers
so I just laid back as it lingered.

Some people tell me I should be afraid
that ghosts are an energy I shouldn’t entertain
but I truly feel that they are harmless
and my intuition says that they have no ill intent
if anything they feel like gentle friends.

Some people say that I’m just hallucinating
that these beings are of my own making
but gut feelings never lie
and I know what I’m feeling inside
and I’m feeling that they’re separate from my mind.

I always give it a few seconds
look around to see if it’s just in my head
when I look back the images are still prevalent
in all the same outlines and repetitive movements
and to be perfectly honest, I am comforted by their existence.

– Valerie Parente (1-3-2020)