The ghost of Chuck Wong
Appears at my kitchen door,
Bargaining for my soul.
I’ve been expecting him.
He wears a nasty bowtie,
Radiates a Newmanesque glow,
And is, indeed, quite eager 
To complete this transaction,
Because he has other clients
Up and down the boulevard.
After all, I’m afraid,
A ghoul is a ghoul is a ghoul—
No three ways about it.

Oh, yes, he’s sweet on me,
Promising confections galore,
If I’ll simply abandon
This paltry essence of mine—
Weak in spirit, slow in limb.
And since I’m sugar-depleted,
Why not just fold,
Collect the goodies offered,
Beat it into the next life.
Yet where is it written
A soul is even required?
Best to depart on a high note.
Get what I can claim,
Before he has no use for me.

About the Author:

Bart Edelman’s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack, Under Damaris’ Dress, The Alphabet of Love, The Gentle Man, The Last Mojito, The Geographer’s Wife, Whistling to Trick the Wind, and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023.  He has taught at Glendale College, where he edited Eclipse, a literary journal, and, most recently, in the MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles.  His work has been anthologized in textbooks published by City Lights Books, Etruscan Press, Harcourt Brace, Longman, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, the University of Iowa Press, Wadsworth, and others.  He lives in Pasadena, California.

Feature image by zengxiao lin on Unsplash