Once, sister & I saw a mother ghost
coaxing her children from
our bedroom, a gentle floating

to our parents’ room across the hallway,
hovered near them, huddled,
the sight awakening a new

thrill at seeing past the now
through a quiet slip of light
into an opaque window world

Momma rose, shushed & calmed
us, and the spirit family faded
into the dark corner 

I asked mom years later if
she remembered
I’d taken all the stuffed

animals & dolls from your bed
to wash them, so maybe that’s why
you saw the ghost family

But, I can still see Mother ghost
circling her children close, leading
them back to their cloudy home