The Boy Who Was Never There

The Boy Who Was Never There

I saw him one evening beneath the streetlight,
He stood there alone in the middle of night,
He looked like a boy who was lost and afraid,
So I walked up slowly and asked if he was okay.

He looked at me sadly and said, Please don’t go,
I’ve been here longer than you will ever know,
I reached out my hand and he disappeared,
Leaving me standing alone with my fear.

The next night I saw him exactly the same,
Standing beneath that old streetlight again,
I asked him his name and he whispered mine,
Then vanished again when I looked at the time.

I went to the council and asked about him,
They told me the story and my face went dim,
A little boy died there many years ago,
And every few years someone sees him alone.

I never went back to that street after dark,
But sometimes I wonder if he still waits there,
Looking for someone to notice his face,
Someone to tell him he hasn’t been erased.

Perhaps he wasn’t frightening, may be he was sad,
Perhaps all he wanted was someone he had,
And maybe the ghost that I feared that night,
Was simply a lonely child searching for light.