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May 01, 2010

A Good Neighbor

You were walking in front of me.
I was walking slowly amidst a group
People talking quietly while
walking through the cemetery

You continued walking and then
you turned around
looking directly at me
And then you smiled

How Can That BE??
Your smile was huge
And then you winked
How Could you wink??

My walking became even slower
I stumbled slightly on a stone
Suddenly I was very tired
I stepped off the footpath


The group of mourners passed me
They seemed to all know each other
I don't know how they knew you
But this was a lot of people

Suddenly I was far from the group
You were by my side
An amused look on your face
Then you winked again

Your hand gesture led me to follow
We walked to your house
Around to the back yard
And then you pointed

I knelt in the flower bed
And dug in the soft soil
I was rewarded with a box
The size of a cigar box

I opened the box and gasped
There were hundred dollar bills
Hundreds of hundred dollar bills
You winked and walked away

You had been my next door neighbor
For many years
We weren't close friends
All those years

When you died I was surprised
You looked the picture of health
Your funeral was lovely
Your house has already been sold

Thank you for sharing the money
Thank you for being a good neighbor
I hope you rest well now
I will see you again some day.

43 comments:

Ms. A said...

Is this a dream or real?

Anonymous said...

I'm with Anthropy... very intriguing post Tecno.

Gappy said...

Wow - that made me stop in my tracks. This is going to be like a puzzle in my head all day now...

Shrinky said...

Oh my, wouldn't that be something? (Think I maybe ought to be nicer to Nutty Nora, next door, now eh?)

Shanel said...

I wish that I had a neighbor like that.... love this:)

Unknown said...

you've got me real or not,
so cool !!

LL Cool Joe said...

I'm having to come to terms with the fact that one of my daughters sees ghosts or whatever they are. That's a whole blog post in itself.

Cindy said...

This was beautiful, it does not have to be a real story, but it is a hopeful story. I am godmother to the child next door, and that is worth more to me than anything. I really lucked out with my neighbors, take care.

R. J. said...

I love your poem, and wish I had neighbors like that--not bloody likely in my experiences.

DJan said...

Whether fictional or not, the hope and love that fill this poem are very real indeed. I think the treasure of knowing the loved one is living on in another form is worth more than money. This post offered me that. Thank you.

Jeanie said...

Very intriguing and hopeful and very well written.

Brian Miller said...

wow techno...in one sense i hope this is real...but for a moment i was there...

Mike said...

Very clever little story. I like the whole ghostly thing, as you well know!

Ina in Alaska said...

ooooo.......

Sheri, RN said...

Very well written!

Kristina P. said...

You had me sitting at the edge of my seat!

Enchanted Oak said...

Holy mackeral, sweet pea!

Kazzy said...

I am confused, and intrigued. Cool.

Debbie said...

This is fascinating! Very engaging.

Claudya Martinez said...

For reals?

terri said...

I'd love to believe stories like this.

secret agent woman said...

I want that neighbor.

Cheryl said...

So very thoughtful and intriguing. It makes me dream...

Pseudo said...

Very cool post.

African Refugees said...

Wonderful piece! The last stanza takes the cake, so to speak. Thank you for sharing.

Enchanted Oak said...

TechnoBabe,
You're tagged for a special prompt on my May 2 blog post.

Ronda Laveen said...

I loves me a good ghostie story! Especially one with buried treasure.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I'd like to believe it's true, but in any case, it's a great story. I love the way the reader doesn't realize that it was that neighbor's funeral and that he or she was a ghost until the end.

Dave King said...

Intriguing!

Kathy M. said...

Wow. What a great poem. Captivating and surprising. Thanks.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

whoa, hundreds????

Sniffles and Smiles said...

What a fantastic poetic narrative! I would love to believe that it is real...something so very haunting about it...would make a fabulous short story or novel as well...And I think YOU could really write it well! Thoroughly enjoyed this! ~Janine XO

Beth said...

Most excellent! I love this!

Casey Freeland said...

You must fess up. Fiction or Fact?

Casey

Hilary said...

Well that's intriguing! Real or Memorex?

Sabi Sunshine said...

wow is that for real real..at some point i felt like its like imaginary thought to have a such people in life.

cool

Momma Fargo said...

Great poem. I'm with everyone else. Real or not real?

Unknown said...

Wow. Now I will be thinking all day.

Syd said...

That is a good neighbor, but I think that you were a good neighbor too. The spirit world is interesting and very real.

Anne H said...

Like sneaking up on Boo Radely!

Julie said...

I love it! An amazing story in a poem. It reminds me of an elderly lady who died and left a van to two of my family members. They had no idea she was leaving them the van, but they really needed it. They did a lot of outreach work with kids. Sorry to ramble...your poem took me down memory lane. Awesome story:)

Mrs4444 said...

Wow. I totally believe this one :)

Robynn's Ravings said...

Did a neighbor really leave you money? Love the mystery! I have a friend who was left over a hundred thousand dollars by a a very poor, lonely old man he had befriended through the years. Your poem sure brought that back! (Hope it's true!)