Old Ghosts

By Caspar Walsh

When to say, yes
when to say, no

to the old echoes
of an old soldier
guarding a tiny, sun burnt island
day and night
decades after the end of a great war
guarding old ghosts.

When to say, yes
when to say, no.

We draw invisible and visible lines of protection
why wouldn’t we? After all the cards we’ve been dealt.

And when the time comes
when death no longer follows us as it did
we step back
and begin to learn - from scratch
to protect now, what is vulnerable
sacred, vital.

We hold our crooked old sword up
glinting in the amber light
in service to what we believe
to choose well, that’s it
the choice

when to say, no
when to say, yes

what’s it to be?