Accepting My Haunted House

Is actually just a low-rent apartment
With 600 square feet of soggy flooring, cracked walls 
Crusted with beige paint, silently tucked within the labyrinth
Of a forgotten city complex

Of course I always planned to eventually afford 
My own Victorian villa, provide my ghost
A proper haunting ground; lavish and sprawling 
And the envy of the breathing

Until then, I always hoped I would die 
On vacation, inside a science museum 
Or at least a starter home

I suppose this will have to do, it's where I folded
My socks, played with my old dog and ate microwave meals 
Without judgment, its windows watched me sleep 
Longer than any lover did, and its walls were always exceptionally good 
At keeping my secrets

Yes it gets crowded with the other phantom tenants
We draw straws, take shifts spooking
The living room kitchen, the bathroom utility closet
The small brown square outside the entrance
That simply states Welcome Home

I’m not sure why ghosts love corners and walls so much
But we do, and these are mine. This is the space
The Earth gave me, five stories high, the views are spectacularly 

Boring, the vents cozier than you’d think
It's the only place that took notice of my mundane minutes
And turned their ordinary habits
Into something called life

I’d probably be lost in a fancy mansion anyways
Its vast foyers, impossible hedge mazes
No, no, this is the place I will haunt
That I will turn into my own little piece of heaven

***

Dante Novario is a writer from Louisville, KY where he works as a therapist with special needs individuals. Nominated for both the 2021 pushcart and rhysling awards, his writing has previously appeared in Firewords Magazine, Peeking Cat Lit, KAIROS Magazine, Coffin Bell Journal, New Contexts, Nimrod International Journal, Thin Air Magazine and others. His poetry can be heard on the literary podcast Strange Horizons and he was chosen as the featured author of a recent edition of Burningword Literary Journal. Instagram @dante_novario.