Giving Up The Ghost
There was this one night I fell in love with a ghost for the first time.
All because I could not let go.
I was still just a kid, and this was the first ghost
that ever haunted me in such a way
that I felt frozen to the spot where we began,
Beholden to something I would not release.
I don’t remember my first words…
Only that they were surely awkward,
(but awkward in a charming way,
like a trip over a rock that turns into a brisk jog.)
We met like this, night after night,
One physical being, holding, hugging a memory,
One spectral being, staying, delaying a departure.
Night after night, holding, hugging, staying, delaying…
Until there was this one night.
When the act of giving up and moving on meant more than hugging tight and holding on.
M. L. Michael
07/20/2021
About…
There’s this phrase that I’ve been obsessed with since I heard it for the first time.
“Giving up the ghost” most often means some kind of mechanical or electronic device breaking down/”dying”.
However, in Britain (and sometimes the U.S.), it can also mean giving up on something that you know is futile.
Both definitions spoke to me…and it wasn’t long before I had the idea of giving up the ghost being the memory of a person…rather someone that has passed or someone that has moved on.
I hope you enjoy.
Take Care Out There.
Every Breath Poetic 