I step out my steaming shower
and wipe mist from my shaving mirror.

Who’s that spectre slapping lather
on my cheeks with bony fingers?

He’s the Ghost of Present Tense,
although he haunts the past and future.

When he brandishes his razor,
I grin and offer him my throat.

– Richard Cecil

References/Credits:

• Spectre. n. (1) A ghost; phantom; apparition, (2) a mental image of something unpleasant or menacing
• Richard Cecil, poet. He currently works at Indiana University as a teacher of creative writing.
• Poem: A Poet Reflects (closing lines to “Ubi Sunt?” from In Search of the Great Dead)
• Photograph: Tony Bordonaro, The Shave Shop