In the Spirit

By: Ed McManis

Sometimes I see

her ghosts

before she does.

She’s always

looking for light,

the outline

of miracles,

a familiar hand

on our shoulders.

I don’t believe

in what

I can’t kill.

Division is my religion.

Sometimes I have t

o lie, tell her that

earthy, graveyard

smell is from

my side

of the bed,

is my new after

shave. Sometimes I

tell her

we’re the only

living ones

in the room.

---

Ed McManis is a writer, editor, erstwhile Head of School, and father. His work has appeared in more than 50 publications, including The Blue Road Reader, California Quarterly, Cathexis Northwest, Narrative, Lascaux Review, etc. He, along with his wife, Linda, have published esteemed author Joanne Greenberg’s (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden) latest novel, Jubilee Year.

Little known trivia fact: he holds the outdoor free-throw record at Camp Santa Maria: 67 in a row.