the nail

for the want of a nail
the coffin was lost
an ineffective seal
that released a ghost

out into the world
the apparition loomed
visiting the people
that had caused its doom

it tried to talk
it tried to scream
it tried, it failed
and so it wailed

now the ghost is embedded
into the random sound of things
when a door creaks, a dog freaks
or a bell suddenly dings

it moves chairs at night
just enough to not cause a fright
but a sense of unease
that something here is amiss
--
I am sitting here, and I think there is something behind me. This poem is for this ghost.