Portrait of a Daughter, 5:45 a.m.

She gets up before everyone else, goes downstairs.
Turns on all the lights in the house — upstairs hallway,

Foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen. The back
Porch, the storage closet, the downstairs bathroom.

She stands and watches as the ghosts charge her,
Trying to find the chinks of darkness to escape into.

Always just as her fear begins to give in, they dissolve
In the light. A ragged pause, a short breath. Now

The rest of the family can be woken.