I’ve played dead before
I played dead for years,
wandering Chicago like
a ghost who left his body.
Taking ghost photographs
writing ghost poems
making ghost music
and playing ghost games
I’ve played dead before
I played dead for kicks
not moving from the couch
like I needed a rose to clutch
Black and white was my life
the color drained from me
Being a ghost is a downer
White, pale, deadened.