An Impenetrable Ghost by Kaylee Lock (15, Maryland)

I hope I haunt you.
When you turn a sharp corner,
I'll float in your peripheral vision.
Incredulously, you’ll turn your head. 

It will be a nameless girl,
with the same-colored hair
and a similar stance. 
Your gut will wrench. 
My apparition is not shakable. ​

---

When you try to drift to sleep,
it’ll be the contours of my face
and the echo of my voice
keeping you awake.

The inspirational quotes pinned to my walls
And the whispers of morality in the depths of my brain
Advise me to wish you the best. 
But when you fall asleep,
I hope my face fills both
your dreams and your nightmares. 

Random objects, miniscule pieces 
of every situation 
Will elicit memories of me 
you cannot erase.
Unable to see anything without also
seeing me. 

I hope you try and fail
to forget me. 
I hope your thoughts are perpetually
full of regret, especially at a time 
you’re obligated to be focused 
on something else, 
someone else. 

Though I have never
loved worse than I have you,
I need you to feel this, 
to feel me.  
I cannot be haunted by you
without returning the favor. ​