The Dead

They haunt and startle us the dead.
Especially those we loved the best,
living as they do inside our heads,
jumping out unexpectedly
from an item
on a shelf in the supermarket –
that food they liked.

And we can hear them suddenly
behind a song,
watch them dance
from a peculiar movie in our minds,
or hear them laugh with us
at something on TV.

The worst thing
is when we see them momentarily,
on a street,
hurrying round a corner,
and we dare not call their name.