The Haunting by Jeff Bagato

blind spirit in the room
gives negative charge unintentional—
no purposeful malfeasance
but only terror, like a wild bird
pressed against glass, unable 
to pause, unable to comprehend
its inability to pass, the adrenalin killing
cells rapidly, the bird then fighting
death more than the glass, and where
a fly merely becomes angry at such
inconvenience, the bird bashes its beak 
to pieces, slamming itself into the 
invisible, and this spirit, I think,
has found me, and I can name
her, although that won’t help her 
situation, won’t help her find the light,
or the darkness—not knowing the spirit
world, I couldn’t say—but I feel 
her fluttering in my own heart;
her fatigue exhausts me, tears me
out of myself, but still calm—
sensing her, her freedom become ecstasy;
I know she will settle down,
last of the Lost Generation, possibly
scared at how lost I seem, now 
that she has suddenly seen me
and goes blind








A multi-media artist living near Washington, DC, Jeff Bagato produces poetry and prose as well as electronic music, glitch video, sticker art, and pop surrealism paintings. Some of his poetry has appeared in Empty Mirror, Futures Trading, In Between Hangovers, Otoliths, Your One Phone Call, and Zoomoozophone Review. His published books include Savage Magic (poetry), Cthulhu Limericks (poetry), The Toothpick Fairy (fiction), and Dishwasher on Mars (fiction). A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found at http://jeffbagato.wordpress.com.