Persistent Specters by Michael Keshigian

Through long, sleepless nights
when his restless brain
revolts, he’d revisit events long passed,
people long gone,
places where he lived,
this night at his grandparent’s house
where memories first emanated,
sitting in the dimmed light
of the wall-papered living room,
where he’d strain
to decipher adult conversations
above the ticking clock.
He’d roam the fields behind the house,
after school, searching for friends,
rummage through junk filled yards,
and walk endlessly
along the forest edge
where fallen trees
honed his skill for balance
as he hopped from one to the other,
before entering the neighbor’s yard
to investigate the chicken coup
where heads of hens attracted the flies
and deflowered the air
with a rancid smell.
which, at times, would attract
a scruffy dog who would slip
between the shadows
and follow him about,
licking his shoes in feigned friendship
to let him know he stands protected
in these fields amid the fallen trees
and peering neighbors
with pale faces.

Michael Keshigian is the author of 14 poetry collections.  He has recently been published in the Comstock Review, Blue Pepper, Young Ravens Literary Review, and Jerry Jazz Musician, with 7 Pushcart Prize and 3 Best Of The Net nominations.