I am plagued by ghosts.
Phantom memories haunting,
Teasing and taunting;
Eerie unending onslaught
Of past polluting present.
Wraithlike reflections,
Ethereal nostalgia,
Draw a spectral smile –
Soon banished by the thought that
Now cannot compare to Then.
Emma H, age 26, 12/10/2017
A double tanka especially for Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge Week 54 – “Ghost” & “Haunt”. To find out how to take part in the challenge, you can follow the link here:
Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Tuesday Challenge No. 54: GHOST & HAUNT
I think my first stanza is better, but didn’t fully convey that the haunting memories were happy ones rather than regrets – hence the addition of the second stanza. I find that happy memories can be horribly bittersweet, especially when going through rough times in life or mental health. Thanks to Colleen for the prompt!
I love the juxtaposition between eerie/polluted and ethereal nostalgia. i think you’ve really captured the bittersweetness of those memories.
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Thank you very much 🙂
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You are most welcome 🙂
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So beautifully expressed!
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Aw, dear Emma, this is sad, but so beautiful. So well written. It pierced my heart and made me really feel it. If I may…perhaps the future may hold some new delight for you and help free you from the sad pining of these ghosts for the past. Past can never be what it once was. ❤
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I’m glad that you enjoyed it, albeit with the empathetic sadness and wistfulness! I have a habit of dwelling on past times either via memory or photos and though they can bring happiness or solace there is often also a sense of heartache from longing. But alas, of course, past is past!
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