Ghosts Are Not Supposed to Feel

Ghost sitting in my chair
staring at me. Silent. Transparent.
I know she is there waiting for me.
I'm an extra-sense, indeed.

I reach out. In her eye gleams a tear.
I sense her ethereal pain.

Her unbearable pain from love
in her short human life
is still strong on the other side.
The tear drops down in the dark.

She comes to me every night,
Hoping to heal
through the black candle light.
Frosty chills run through my palms.

Ghosts are not supposed to feel.
I already know, but is that right?

Petrouchka Alexieva is an "All American Scholar Award" recipient (2008). Speaking 8+ languages, her scholarly works and poems are highlighted in conferences, TV show, various venues and opening ceremonies; published in UK, Bulgaria, India, USA. For her long-life achievements, her name was included in NASA’s list of Mars Exploration Rover (2003) and Science Laboratory Rover (2011) capsules.

"Ghosts Are Not Supposed to Feel" was published online in Spirits and Specters by Four Feathers Press (October, 2023) and POETICA #14 by Clarendon House Publications, UK (October, 2023) and has been read in numerous venues.

Find more by Petrouchka Alexieva in the Author Index.