Ghosts in the Light

She remembers 
when the light 
was filled 
with silent ghosts.  
They would flicker in and out 
in the cigarette smoke  
of the theater,  
each frame 
an ashy wisp, 
a burnt offering.
The story spooling out 
in the air 
was a familiar one.
The  sentiment 
caught in her heart 
and  made her cry.   
   
Years later,  
she went back,
after the smoke 
was banned 
and only the light
was permitted to filter.
The ghosts  
talked to her, now- 
but it was no longer 
a sacred thing.
There were profane words 
and the noise hurt her ears. 
In this night  light  
there were no  
familiar family faces. 
Everything was clear,  
startling new and strange
and all the colors 
too bright  for her eyes 
to bear.
And it was then 
she knew 
she would die 
in this nightmare dream.