There are ghosts in the walls
CW: This piece contains domestic and sexual abuse themes*
No one can see them, so it seems,
but they are there nonetheless.
Echoes of that time you went too far,
threw me against the door, hand
at my throat and whispered
in my ear how much you loved me.
Yes, there are ghosts here.
They swim in the bedsheets
where I held myself still, waiting
for morning to break through the window
so I could wake myself up
from the nightmares I kept having
when my eyes were wide open.
They walk in the corridors
where I scrubbed the floor
three times, because the first two
I didn’t do it properly, and
it wasn’t clean enough for you.
Third time’s the charm.
Sometimes they talk to me,
remind me of things that make
my skin shiver, like that time
you covered me with your weight
bourbon on your breath and
hatred in your eyes, a look
burnt into my mind forever.
Yes, there are ghosts here,
and there are days where
I am one of them.
Originally from rural Wales, Nia (She/Her) has lived in East Yorkshire the past 6 years. A single mother and occasional blogger, her self-published collection ‘Walking through the shadows’ was published in 2017 and she is working on her next collection. She has featured in The High Wolds Poetry Festival and accompanying collections, The Amphibian Literary Journal, and will feature in Boats Against the Current and Noctivagant Press later this year.
When not writing she can be found walking in woodlands trying to talk to the trees, drinking strong coffee and eating good cake, listening to an eclectic playlist, or occasionally attempting to knit or crochet badly.
