I Knew He Was a Ghost When He Said Hello

I Knew He Was a Ghost When He Said Hello

I knew he was a ghost when he said hello,

His voice came softly from long ago.

He stood beneath the pale moonlight,

But cast no shadow in the night.

His coat was black, his face was white,

His eyes held something not quite right.

He smiled at me then bowed his head,

And spoke like someone long since dead.

He said I've waited here for years,

Among the graves among the tears.

I've watched the seasons come and go,

But no one hears me say hello.

I asked his name he looked away,

And whispered I forgot one day.

The earth remembers where I lie,

But I forgot the day I died.

He took my hand it felt like snow,

A cold no living heart could know.

And where his fingers touched my skin,

I felt the darkness creeping in.

He told me of a lonely room,

A broken clock a silent tomb.

A woman waiting by the door,

Who never saw his face once more.

I asked him why he walked alone,

Why every grave had turned to stone.

He said the dead don't always sleep,

Some promises are ours to keep.

Then suddenly the church bells rang,

And somewhere deep a coffin sang.

He turned to me with frightened eyes,

And said the dead can hear your lies.

I stepped away but he stepped near,

And whispered something in my ear.

I didn't come to frighten you,

I came because you're buried too.

I looked beneath the churchyard tree,

And saw a stone that carried me.

My name my birth the day I'd died,

And there he stood still by my side.