Ghosts

A shadow of a family Sits, lumping on our couch Watching TV with mindless eyes Occasionally letting a few words out The lines that bind together Lie about on the ground like jump ropes They’re always in the way Tripping up dreams and shorting out hopes Every emotion results in a trip The kitchen holds our sleeping pills We are cannibals who ravage our own souls Unaware of what we’ve just killed When shadow touches skin An unholy shiver acknowledges the split Broken bits lie behind beauty Our reality is a switchboard with connectors that never fit. Written by Trudy Schrader on July 4th 2007 Note: This was a poem I wrote 3 days before I left my husband of 14 years (16 at divorce).