A Little Celebration Between This World and the Next

Tonight,
the ghosts came laughing,

floating through my room
like silver balloons.

One danced upon the ceiling,
another borrowed my chair,

and the smallest one
hid inside the moonlight
just to surprise me.

They brought no sorrow,

only pockets full of stars
and laughter
that sounded like bells underwater.

I asked them why they came.

They smiled,

and the whole darkness
began to glow.

For one beautiful night,

the dead forgot they were dead,

and I forgot
to be afraid.

Then morning touched the windows,

and the ghosts began to fade.

But before they disappeared,
they filled my hands with stars.

"Keep them," they whispered.

"Whenever the night feels lonely,
look up."

I opened my window,

and watched them rise
into the morning sky,

still laughing,

still dancing,

until the darkness itself
learned how to become light.