Alan Catlin
Ghosts, Transparent and Otherwise
"People, the ghosts down in North-of-the South
aren't see through." – Diane Seuss
Depending on their tribes, on their location,
they may be guiding lights like hurricane
lamps in a perpetual storm or sky scanning
beams over airports attempting to penetrate
thick cloud covers. Other ghosts, in arid
areas, are illusions, are like oases perceived
as watering holes with sustenance and shade
where nothing exists. On event horizon beaches
they are like Dali silhouettes framed against
a seascape with something else inside,
something like a crowded bazaar, good for
sale marketplaces where ghosts are terrorists
wearing long black robes with suicide vests
strapped tight to their bodies, underneath.
waiting for the appointed time to blow stuff up.
Bio
Alan Catlin has been publishing for six decades. His work has appeared in hundreds, if not thousands of journals, from the completely obscure, defunct and going strong, respectable university magazines. Once upon a time he published a full length "mini book", something like 2 x 2 inches, called Short Shots based on his experiences as a barman.