O Ghost, are you a shadow of one gone
Who stirs from time to time within his grave?
Was life unjust such death has turned out wrong?
And is there any way to such repay?
Or art thou merely fantasy, thou vision,
Pure madness, crazy mind tricks, in my head?
Or are you demon, devil come to haunt me,
And lure me into strife when I am dead?
Are you, spirit, friend who’s come to guide me?
Do you speak truth, or good advice, or still,
Will you always be right there beside me,
To face life’s challenges with double will?
Although you’re see-through, I can’t see through you;
‘Tis you that sees through me — I know it’s true.

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Background:

When Ms. Woolbright assigned an extra credit assignment for our unit on Hamlet, I believe she asked for a ghost-themed "anthology". She wasn't expecting this. I got inspired, and wrote a collection of poems especially for the assignment, starting with this one, based directly on Hamlet and one of our classroom lectures. I titled the poem "Who's There?" after the first line of Hamlet, and how we discussed that opening line's setting an uneasy tone right at the top. Our lecture talked about all the sort of different interpretations of ghosts and instances around the world of this theme. Several of those instances, a few at least, made it into the Ghost Riddles.