The stag on the moor in that painting has moved forward since I have been here.
The carpet is damp, wallpaper too.
The bronze candelabrum might impress but there is no electric power.
The mantelpiece is gone, exposing raw brick beneath the vanished marble.
How long have ashes lain in the grate?
But I feel no dread of the unknown.
If a ghost ever haunted this room that ghost has long abandoned the place.
Bio: G.B. Ryan was born in Ireland and graduated from University College Dublin. He is a ghostwriter in New York City. Elkhound published his SURPRISED BY GULLS in May 2015.