Antigonish [I met a man who wasn’t there]
by Hughes Mearns
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away…
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door… (slam!)
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away…
——————-
I quite like this poem. There is something tantalising about it that I can’t point my finger into. It is poignant!
This poem resonates what I was going through with my husband in the last four years when he was so addicted with the computer, it became his life.
I would meet him on the stairs and we were like strangers. We would eat on the same table in silence. If we ever watch tv together we would seat of the opposite side of a long wraparound settee. In bed we would stay on our side of the bed, not touching, never touching.
Yes my husband was an annoying ghostly figure for years.