“Paranormal Activity” by Drew Jackson

 Now I know what a ghost is.
Unfinished business, that’s what.
(Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses)

And this ghost showed up to tell us
The work is far from over.
We have only just begun.
Ghosts haunt us—departing & returning
again and again. Sweat drenching
the palms of our hands each time.
The real fear we feel is of keeping
their work alive—the fear that
their dreams have died with them,
and that we are inadequate to breathe

“Ghost Dance” by James Autry

Don’t despair the ruined lives,
The crosses to bear, the churches
Burned down and smoking.
The rotted blood of hatred, the civil wars, crusades, and inquisitions.

Hey, look who’s in your back yard.
It’s……it’s Jesus.
He’s in everybody’s back yard,
Everybody’s kitchen,
Saying, “Look at me.
Get up.
Let’s have some coffee.
I’ll help you get through this day.”

The words of Drew Jackson and James Autry