Reprieve

i.
Spanish homework splayed before me - my invisible ghosts
walk beside the lamps I haven't had time
to turn on - steps behind me, each footcreak eerily akin to
my own.

ii.
For 34 minutes the heater is a steady purr, the shifting
foundation a reassuring mumble, the lighting creating
shadow puppets...

iii.
Click.
My ghosts slip under the door-frame
and gather in the ridges on the rug, the shadows return --
with new puppets.