The Woman in the Ivy

The locals
won’t walk this road
after sunset.

They whisper
about a woman
who never left.

Some say she wanders
the upstairs halls.

Others say
she became the ivy,
wrapping herself
around every brick
until the house
could never lose her again.

I brought her a candle.

A packed bowl.

And enough silence
to hear the forest listening.

Halfway through my smoke,
I felt another exhale
beside me.

Warm.

Slow.

Patient.

I didn’t turn around.

Some ghosts
aren’t looking
to be seen.

Only remembered.

One response to “The Woman in the Ivy”

  1. This piece reminds me of a story I’d read long ago, of a woman turning to ghost and lingering by the window just to watch the sunset, because her son did it when he still lived. “She became the ivy wrapping herself around every brick until the house could never lose her again.” is both haunting, and so melancholic. I love it 🙂

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