Ghosts
/Clint Bowman
In the middle of the sermon,
you passed a note that read,
“People who believe in ghosts
are more likely to see them.”
I looked at you, confused,
as I stuck the ripped piece
of bulletin paper
between hymnal pages.
As we exited the sanctuary,
families filed out
into the parking lot.
The air slowly filled
with deep thuds from a helicopter.
As it got closer, all the kids shouted
and pointed their fingers at the sky.
Then all the fathers looked up,
along with the mothers,
grandparents, clergy, and pastor.
Everyone gazed in amazement
as deeper beats penetrated the air,
but the sky
was robed in gray—
so nobody could see it.
You said, “This is what I mean.”
As though everyone believed
those whooping blades
were footsteps from heaven,
and this moment
was the second coming.
Everyone smiled at the thought—
ready and willing
to see, be saved, and leave.
I knew it wasn’t God.
But what if
people who don’t believe
only see helicopters
in the sky?
I looked at you,
beaming up in unison
with all those smiling faces,
and for that brief moment,
I believed in ghosts.
Author’s Note: The inspiration behind "Ghosts" comes from my upbringing in the south and where I currently live in the Appalachian mountains. Being raised in the church, I experienced how easy it is to get wrapped up in a congregation and just go through rituals without questioning the reasoning behind beliefs. I noticed that people with strong faith find God in everything—which can be beautiful but is usually overdone and seems to trivialize everything that’s deemed a "God moment."
Clint Bowman is a writer from Black Mountain, North Carolina. During the day, Clint works as a recreation coordinator, leading hikes and other outdoor programs around the Swannanoa Valley. In the evening, Clint volunteers as the facilitator of the Dark City Poets Society- a completely free poetry group based out of the Black Mountain Library. More of Clint's recent poetry has been published in Louisiana Literature, Mud Season Review, and ONE Art.
