Clyde T. Kessler's poetry has appeared in publications such as Free Zone Quarterly and Kota. He lives in Radford, Virginia. This poem is part of a series he calls "Goblintown: Poems for ghosts and the children of ghosts." Dark Planet is designed and edited by Lucy A. Snyder. If you spot any errors, or if you have any comments, please contact her at lusnyde@cyberus.ca. All materials copyright 1996-2001 by their respective creators. No stories, articles, poems or images from this webzine may be posted or published without the written consent of their creator(s).

Haunting by Clyde T. Kessler I came home with a ghost. It was a bluish, fire-eyed neighbor ready for wars. It crouched and smiled with its tendril hands smoldering. It peered into an old gift, a prickly pear that had a shriveled flower. It sat like a blue shoat with some seed corn. I told it some lies, and it told me the like, then said I could learn to haunt while I lived, and I smiled too, haunting these words.