Do You See Her?

Our son, home from college for the weekend, was awakened at 4:00
A.M. with the intense feeling that someone was in the room. He
quickly grabbed his cell phone and started taking pictures in the
dark. There are large framed prints on opposite walls in the newly
redecorated "bat cave". One is of the Titanic, which you can see
reflected from the flash in the glass of the larger, revolutionary ship
print. Do you see the image captured between the reflections? One
little piece of history you might want to know, is there was a black
maid, named Cleo, who lived at the manor in the 1940's.

My stack of Charles Simic books were waiting for me at the library
yesterday. I am thoroughly enjoying a leisurely browse today.
I thought this one paired nicely with our ghostly visit.



Mirrors at 4 A.M.

You must come to them sideways
In rooms webbed in shadow,
Sneak a view of their emptiness
Without them catching
A glimpse of you in return.

The secret is,
Even the empty bed is a burden to them,
A pretense.
They are more themselves keeping
The company of a blank wall,
The company of time and eternity

Which, begging your pardon,
Cast no image
As they admire themselves in the mirror,
While you stand to the side
Pulling a hanky out
To wipe your brow surreptitiously.

Charles Simic

If you are interested in previous ghost happenings at the manor,
click on "ghosts" in the labels section of my sidebar.

Okay, here's some help. Look just right of the Titanic reflection, in
the center of the large print. She's angled, facing right. I think it even
looks like she is wearing a kerchief.