The Bedroom Ghosts

A poem about a childhood experience

In our bedroom you’d find three beds Two small spider webs And three children who would swear That there’s really someone over there

A fireman, a hunter, and a little girl Who always did a happy twirl The two men had no name The little girl’s name was Katerina and she always wanted to play a game

They were transparent and kind They said we needed to protect our mind Our parents didn’t believe us Our grandma thought we went nuts

The years passed by and our three friends could no longer be seen Were they gone or were they hiding somewhere in between Our imagination and our need for witnesses Perhaps they were a product of pain or of our weaknesses

This poem is a tribute to the three “ghosts” that lived in the bedroom I shared with my two older siblings. All three of us had a very vivid imagination which could have created those three figures we were sure we could see and interact with. I think all of us were quite close on the hyperphantasia spectrum (see my recent post “Fantasy Against Reality” for more information on that).

Even if they were just our imaginary friends, they offered a sense of safety in the bedroom. Our mother was too afraid to enter sometimes, and that made the bedroom the perfect place to barricade in and get out of her anger outbursts.

Have you ever experienced something like this? Did you have imaginary friends?