I used to envy the lives of ghosts

Interspatial travelers,

unbound by the constraints of time

and dimension

Free to roam and exist

without being tethered

to a fixed form or location

Invitation to appear – welcome or not –

to observe, learn, and disappear

Yes, I used to envy the lives of ghosts

It turned out that peering through the roughly cut linen was far less intoxicating

Reaching across the chasm was far less enchanting

Calling out into the liminal space was far less empowering

Straining my eyes past the dangling threads in the foreground

I could see the horror on their faces

Armspan limited by the borders of fabric

I could not grasp and could see them fleeing, moving away from me

Voice muffled and air hard to siphon in

I could see I was not understood as my lungs burned for oxygen

The envy decayed into numbness

which dissipated into non-existence

My fate was no different than the silver screen spooks before me

The image of ‘child,’ projected as a ghoulish spectre on the movie screens of their minds

The soft gaze looking toward interpreted as a menacing and tormenting stare

The gentle gestures of innocence encoded as a lingering dread they wished to forget

The soft sounds of inquiry heard as haunting reverberations in the fog of a nightmare

I used to envy the lives of ghosts

– until I became one

#Parentify Me Capin’