Lighten the burden of the past

People departed

hang on in old emails
and say boo
at random moments.

When searching for John
a different in the ether
says - oh hi,
if it works for you
then let us go
for lunch tomorrow;
the Thai restaurant
a few blocks away
will work.

For a moment,
it feels strange
conversing with the dead
and learning
their eating preferences.

Lately, a similar story
has been repeating
a bit too often
for my living self.

Perhaps,
it is time to go through
the contact list
and purge dead names,
and clean up emails
and lighten the burden
of a lengthening past.