Ghost Story

Understand clearly that you are a ghost haunting your own life. Do not seek an exorcist, nor a mirror. Do not try and revise or cure your condition. Put on a white sheet, cut two slits for eyeholes, and wander from room to room in your house, taking time in each room. At some point, find a mirror and stare into it, understanding clearly that beneath the sheet is nobody. Ask a friend you trust to come over and play-act the role of an exorcist, and have them fill a water gun with tap water and squirt you numerous times, while reciting made-up verses from Ecclesiastes. Remind yourself that there is no difference between a Methodist and a Jew, a rottweiler and a goldfish, an umbrella and a water fountain. Continue listing not differences and when you are satisfied with your catalog, remove the sheet and look into the mirror. As promised, you are not there. Smile. As if someone who cares is snapping your photo.

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About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, novelist, poet, performer, playwright and filmmaker, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of six novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, No Man’s Brooklyn, The Last Furies, and No One Dreams in Color; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His plays have been staged and performed both nationally and internationally.
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