The Ghost On a Morning Like This

By Hector Lopez Jaime

any job will try you

it’ll run you down &

force you to lick boots

or worse kiss asses:

neither flavor is pleasant

or easily erased from the

palate so you’re left with

the options of smoking or

drinking the horrid taste

into nothingness for the day

those mornings that follow

are the worst

on this particularly bad morn

the store manager & his assistant

are reviewing some overnight security

cams & see something so terrible,

so shocking the whole store cannot

function without being made

thoroughly aware of its existence

a figure that looks like a man

runs in circles at unreal

speeds, which isn’t due to the

software as it’s apparently all

live footage, which gets mentioned

at least twice by the assistant

the night staff is told to never leave

unless they’re in a group & to be

extra careful when closing the store

   as if that’ll stop a fucking ghost

sure it’s a nice area

but this is a world

where the crazies

come in waves &

storms, rushing to

flood the moats

wealthy people have

others dig for them

i don’t believe in shit like this

in the first place so trying it out

on a morning like this, it’s got to be

up there, as far as bad ideas management’s

had, some part of me wishes this ghost was real

let it have the building

let it ruin sales

let the retail grind come to a violent stop

i’ll collect my check as the doors close

By Hector Lopez Jaime