You may look at me every day,
Yet, you might not see who I really am.
My shriek can be heard at night,
But not my voice when spoken.
I pick up and move things around whole day,
Though, everyone is too busy to notice.
I run from one place to another,
Silently, better than a cat can ever do.
I can be in many places at once,
My hands stretching out to grasp things.
Most of the time, I excel at being invisible,
Unless, when I fumble a bit, which leads to a commotion.
Some say I can manipulate the thoughts of others,
But am cursed to bury my own wishes.
Burns don’t stop me from playing with fire,
Still, I am not considered dangerous.
You see, I am a special ghost,
Different from the ones in the stories you have heard.
I don’t scare other people,
Rather remain meek myself.
However, like them, I too don’t rest, for that is human.
So, who am I? I am that special ghost who remains hidden,
In the very shadows of the home that I help to create.
Sandhya Shankar, completed her PhD in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and is an Assistant Professor at the School of Linguistics and Literary Studies, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Ernakulam.
Featured image credit: William Santos/Unsplash