ghosts

sometimes you'd rather not
know who died.
who's sick.
who's out of luck
or money.
you'd rather not know
what they look like
now, how their lives
have gone.
where they live
and who they know.
you miss the old days
when people came
and went, there was
no lingering on
at the touch of a button,
all present
on the screen.
they were names in a yearbook,
numbers written
down, you'd rather too,
sometimes, yourself,
not to be seen.