The Ghost of Your Past. By Wayne Russell

I pop another antidepressant,

but nothing seems to help erase
the ghost of you, nothing seems
to eradicate the memories of us;
especially at Christmas time.

The loneliest time of the year is
now, as the lovers stroll down by
the footpath, rosy cheeks and smiles
illuminating the dull winter day.

Smiles and happiness make me think

It makes me think of us, not so long
ago, in another time and space, making
plans, our conquest of the stars and of
newlywed dreams.

The good times for me have ceased to
be, this is the ice age in my heart and
I carry it with me wherever I may roam.

I visit the kids every Sunday, they are half
of you and half of me, I see you with him,
your new better half.

It sickens in so many ways to watch the
two of you out of the corner of my eye,
you act as if we never were, you act as
if I was just a bad dream; that you have
now awoken from.   

Wayne Russell is or has been many things in his time upon this planet, he has been a creative writer, world traveler, graphic designer, former soldier, and former sailor. Wayne has been widely published in both online and hard copy creative writing magazines. From 2016-17 he also founded and edited Degenerate Literature. In late 2018, the kind editors at Ariel Chart nominated Wayne for his first Pushcart Prize for the poem Stranger in a Strange Town.