ghost

What ghost
just drifted by
with barely a nod,
hardly a sigh?

My lover has gone missing.
Once robust and laughing,
I did not notice him
slip into gaunt ghastly silence
and from there,
to translucence.

One night before bed,
as I stood for a shave,
looking behind me
I noticed his gaze
and in less than a whisper
he lip-synched “goodnight.”
Then he vanished
forever from sight.

It has not been so many years
but I pack a century of frustration
in the hammer of my fist.
I am alone now,
with only sorrow to hold.

© 2001
B. Vincent Hernandez