“Ghost Story” by R.G. Evans

Years before you died,

I saw the ghost of you

downtown, walking streets

little more than ghosts themselves.

Past the gated door of the jewelers

and the boarded up cafe,

you wandered looking nowhere

the way you always did.

I knew it wasn’t you,

had just left you at your house,

had argued with you

over something petty

just to have a reason 

to leave. And now

I watched you-not-you

pass before the courthouse,

the Chinese takeout joint,

and when I reminded myself

I didn’t believe in ghosts

and reminded myself that

you were still alive,

the ghost of you stopped

and looked at me

like it could hardly believe

its eyes. We watched each other

in disbelief awhile

till the light changed 

and I drove away without

glancing in the rearview 

for fear you’d still be there.

R.G. Evans is the author of Overtipping the Ferryman, The Holy Both, and Imagine Sisyphus Happy. His albums of original songs, Sweet Old Life and Kid Yesterday Calling Tomorrow Man, and Haunted are available on most streaming platforms.