the ghost’s story

he’s a man
with his coffee

he’s a ghost 
watching him-

self an actor in
a play a 

murder mystery
also a slave 

toiling in the 
fields teaching

himself to read
a woman 

murdered the 
actor says

I have seen 
the large beast

the slave escapes
journeys to the

shimmering sea
pursued by

bounty hunters
the ghost watches

himself wash out
his coffee cup 

begins his
day as usual