invisible ghosts [updated]

every city is inhabited by ghosts
the older the city
the more stable the population
living and dead 

but while all cities
possess ghosts
only stable old cities
are possessed by ghosts \ 

newer cities
unstable cities 

are as ghost haunted as the old cities only their ghosts are invisible 

ghosts need the living in order to be seen 

they need the memories and tears of those still alive 

to bind them to the souls still trapped in corporeal form 

without those memories
the ghosts
fade from view 

out of mind
out of sight 

so modern streets
are choked
with invisible spirits
none of whom
are known by a living soul 

in old cities
ancient cities
where family roots
run deep
and intertwine with history
the ghosts always find
a sympathetic mind
to invoke them
to evoke them 

but modern cities spring up overnight 

their living spaces filled with transients 

their families surging and splitting
mating and divorcing
blood relations vanishing
in a heartbeat 

their ghosts reflect that
(or rather, fail to reflect it) 

old bonds are dissolved
old times are forgotten
old names remain unspoken
and without even
ineffable invocations
the ghosts cannot
materialize 

so they haunt their old homes
unknown and untethered
forgotten phantasms
doomed to limbo 

there are worse things than being alive 

text © Buzz Dixon