inhabited
I don’t believe in ghosts or spirits, but I believe in haunted houses. Structures with history and stories. Systems and frameworks that remember and go on remembering. That is what we are as human beings. Houses that are always haunted and haunting. Inhabited and always inhabiting.
It is not a passive residue lingering. It is not the echo of memories. It is an active apparition pacing. Rattling chains in the forgotten places of our being. We harbor what we can’t release and we become what we carry.
There is no resolution. No cleansing rituals. No exorcisms. No circles of salt that can keep the wraiths from writhing.
Our hearts are made of specters. We are our own unfinished business. This is the texture of our living.
May you be at peace with the ghosts of your own being and becoming.
May you hold what you carry gracefully.
May you find rest in the unfinished work of living.
In case no one’s told you today, I love you with all my everything.
***special thanks to Charity Whan for letting me steal another of her great lines to use as the title for the collage at the top of this post: “tenderness needs tending to”. If you’re not subscribed or following her, you really need to fix that.
Beautifully written, Duane. I can't always see or control the depth of the tendrils that bind relationships, and that for me is the source of a haunt, whether it was romantic or a friendship. I'm surprised at the intensity of my feelings of loss when some people pass, or move on, never realizing how much I valued them in their presence. I try to be mindful of that now and have a habit of telling people how much I appreciate them. I know you do the same. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my oh my , once again, what a banger! So so poignant, so so timely 🙏