The Great Aunt

My second cousin once removed once asked my motherWhere do ghosts come from

They come from shame and family secretsThey come from an acre where the untold fertilizes a storied garden

My young cuz had a follow-up questionDoes this house have a ghost

None that you can ever seeNone that will ever harm youBut long ago your Great Aunt was believed to be touchedand so was taken to a special hospital that was like a prisonThe high-handed doctors were electrified by untruthsAnd all the nurses were stoked by bitterness save one saved by laughterYet the magnet between Auntie and her Nurse was blocked by innuendo and reproachSome say that their shadows pogo together in the abandoned asylumBut on holidays Auntie comes here to be reunited with her familyThe more we remember the more she forgives

And what does the ghost of Auntie sayAnd how will I know she is there

Though Auntie’s specter is speechlessWhenever your laugh sounds like another’sWhenever you sing a silly song over and overWhenever you spin around and around to embrace your own dizzinessKnow that she is pleased to be beside youFor the feeling of your own strangeness has become a musicAnd she is whirling to its rhythm