The dead ones sometimes appear
Cagneyesque in that occasionally
they complain about a bad rap.

"Who invented these ghouls and devil,"
they interpose, "who came up
with ghosts or the sinister dead?"

I must admit they have a point,
for whenever I describe them to
myself, I always avoid such terms

as cute or insecure or even precocious,
however precise. Indeed once you become
used to the very concept of dead ones

popping in for a chat now and then,
they appear anything but sinister.
"We always seem to be out of step

with popular lore," they complain,
"but must you call us cute? Although
we might at least find angelic acceptable."

At last I see, even dead, we all tend
to describe ourselves more favorably
that others might observe us to be.