Thank you very much to Poetry Editor Janine Mercer for publishing "Gossips" in Corvus Review.

Gossips

Both inside and outside a haunted house 
the dead fear you more.
So, avoid them in dark alleys
on account that you do not startle them. 
For, I guarantee that they are there. 
They like to wander because
they are as curious as cats.
They do enjoy a good look inside windows,
especially of places where they once lived.
Would you deny them the pleasure of remembering their past?

They only want to live up to their eulogies 
of having connected
and the questions of life never cease,
even for them.

They watch closely
to see and hear what goes on around them
 for there are very few spirits without a face 
and none without ears.

They share news of what they have seen and heard. 
I have been told they are some of the most 
consummate gossips on the planet.

For this reason, beware of seances,
where the dearly departed might tell all your secrets. 
It might make for a most embarrassing day!