I Want You to Know
By
Radiance Angelina Petro
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. ——Second Timothy 1:7
I want you to know
I believe in spirits.
I don’t believe there is some god
Sitting around somewhere doling out spirits—of any kind.
Spirits are not things to be given
Or taken.
Spirits do the giving (and yes, the taking).
Spirits move and live and have
Their being in, around, above, below, and through
Us. They travel looking for places
To stay—sometimes forever, other times
They just want to stop by, check out
How things are going, and then move on.
Other times they come to stay awhile
And live in your hostel mind.
Most are pretty unassuming and quiet,
Whispering only now and again
Via the wind in the trees above your head
Or in some other such manner.
Other times they can be a bit testy,
Especially when you hook one
With your emotions.
Then they can become like angry fish
And do their best to snap your line.
And yes, there are ones that mean you harm.
The main thing I want you to know though is this:
I believe in spirits.
It is important to me
That you know that.
Keep in mind: spirits
Are not ghosts.
Spirits are spirits.
Ghosts are ghosts.
Spirits wander freely.
Ghosts stay stuck in one place, screaming
Or weeping, or running up and down the hallway,
Sometimes they sit behind chairs or in walls laughing—but not
Easy laughing—more like trapped, misunderstood laughing—
The kind one might hear in an asylum.
Spirits are not angels either.
Angels are angels.
Spirits are spirits.
Several of them (spirits)
Live in me. I used to think
There were just two—a male and a female.
Now I know my soul and body and mind
Are a city of spirits. Sometimes
Things thin out a bit and I am more
A house of spirits, or a garden of spirits—
Like I said though—the main thing
I want you to take away from this poem is:
I believe in spirits. I think you
Get that now, and whether or not
You believe me, or whether or not
You believe in spirits, does not matter to me.
I told the truth.
That is the best I can do.
Another great one! my “hostel mind?” Brilliant!
Thank you Fane. <3
If you haven’t already, I think you should consider publishing your poems in a book. You don’t sound crazy by the way, just honest and full of integrity.