A Poem by Michelle Penn

ghost studio

I

come and find it, the smoky fake, the delectable lie, just
a touch of darkroom magic and the dead
live, hover in spirit-white beside you—sitter, mourner
            aching to hold the lost, come,
let them cast a diaphanous arm across your shoulders
call this a gift, a body of belief—you who want so badly
to believe        a little technological twist
            for war widows and spinsters
you can even pose with Napoleon or the good General
Robert E Lee—this time no one will leave you, no one
will die                        what is done can be undone
oh yes, I know: those ghosts were once the fence
            between you and death 

II

charlatan         show me          what I want to see                  
            I crave                         the mist / veil / illusion                      
set up               your camera                walk me through
            the motions                 do I simply sit and
he’ll / she’ll / they’ll        drift in        glowing presence       
            captured on glass?      how will          I know            
it's my ghost                and not            someone else's
            tell me, kind liar         because logic
has the most                unpleasant way           of seeping in 
            insidious stain                         and I need this             I need             
to believe        it's not just dust           on plate, a smear
            on the lens                   I need              his / her / their            
star      swelling          consuming me           with its breath

Michelle Penn’s debut chapbook, Self-portrait as a diviner, failing (2018), won the Paper Swans Prize. Recent poetry has appeared in The Rialto, Perverse, MIR Online, and The Amsterdam Quarterly. New work is forthcoming in The London Magazine, The Interpreter’s House, PN Review, and Stand. Michelle plans innovative poetry/art/music events in London as part of Corrupted Poetry. She is also a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. michellepennwriter.com