A Ghostly Conscience Poem by Margaret Cox

It’s a never-ending road that the lonely man treads
Looking neither left nor right or turning any heads
He has no thoughts, no dreams, devoid of all hope
No feelings or care, no longer knowing how to cope.

Darkness envelops him as swirling mists surround
Gently twisting snowflakes not making any sound
He stumbles onwards, just a slow walk to nowhere
Not aware of the biting cold, just filled with despair.

Then shuffling to a stop, he sees a magical display
Soft voices singing as joyful music begins its play
A blaze of colours slowly awaken his unseeing eyes
As twinkling Christmas lights brighten up the skies.

Harsh tears run rivers and freeze cruelly on his face
As he stands and watches, this man from no place
For a very brief moment, as lingering for a while
His sore cracked lips form a soft ghost of a smile.

Then silently, unnoticed, he starts to walk away
He does not look back, no-one asks him to stay
Perhaps he’s just a ghost from way back long ago
Not a lonely old man that no-one wants to know.