Ghost One. Humans None.
Something real funny is going on.
I left it right here, now it’s gone.
No one was here to take it away.
I haven’t gone anywhere all day.
It’s happened before. Stuff moved about.
Made me so mad, I wanted to shout.
Friends say it’s a ghost. A soul lost.
Ain’t no wraith gonna run me off.
I hear strange noises in the night.
Like chains rattling, or a clanging pipe.
Strange smells, like rotting mildew.
Or rotting meat, to name a few.
Then, I saw a shadow covered in slime.
It said: “You be gone by tomorrow this time.”
I said: “No, I won’t go. This house is mine.”
It disappeared, leaving a stink. It’s a crime.
I wasn’t sure just what I’d do.
I decided to call in you.
Your fame is a ghost hunter and more.
You would escort the ghost right out the door.
The wraith appeared, sitting on a hot stove.
Soon, his smell was something to loathe.
He said: “You be gone when the morning come.”
You said: “Now, I’ve got you on the run.”
You surrounded it with a circle of salt.
Made a pentagram with powdered malt.
Mumbled an enchantment, or two.
The ghost simply smiled at you.
You yelled: “Leave, and never return.”
The ghost disappeared with no concern.
You said: “My job here is done.”
The ghost said: “Now you be on the run.”
We both yelled in our surprise.
The ghost disappeared before our eyes.
You said: “This may be harder than I thought.”
I said: “Tell me. Is this all you brought?”
“We will trap it in a web of spells.”
“Bind it up until it yells.”
The wraith came back, causing much fear.
It said: “That won’t work. Now you be gone from here.”
The ghost never left the place.
I decided I had better taste.
You decided to change careers.
We both went out and had some beers.
——————————————R.W. Johnson—–(2017)