Ghost
That Autumn he returned
to clear the house,
but found it full
of immovable things.
His sister asleep in her cot.
His father raking cinders in the grate.
His mother clattering like cutlery
in the kitchen.
His long-dead dog barking at birds
in the back-yard.
Outside, the paint-peeled wall
looked new,
the out-house re-built,
its broken windows re-forged by sunlight.
But he didn’t feel its warmth,
and it couldn’t find enough of him
to make a shadow from.
David J. Costello lives in Wallasey, Merseyside. He is a member of Chester Poets and North West Poets. David has been widely published and won the 2011 Welsh International Poetry Competition. His first collection Human Engineering, was recently published by Thynks Publishing.