Great Ghosts

I had my hopes of how I would be After living in exile After closing your eyes to me I even wrote scenes where I reemerged boldly Bearded, alive, with "eskimo eyes" New baby on my back, but from where? But I didn't count the fact that I have ghosts in my mind Stowaways, great ghosts of my life Great ghosts of old wives And they're howling So I spent my wilderness time rolling on the ground Pulling my hair and wrestling them off Yelling at no one, punching snow I gathered ghosts and gave them my lecture I bid them away, I pleaded and cried I said, "There's no room in my life for you or you Or your howling Let me undo these ropes and go on living without you Not just change where we live" "Go on, get!" I said I had my hopes about how I would be after sending them off After getting set free But there's no such thing as living Without their prowling As you can see, having descended the hill I still look like me, I still wallow like Phil And forever will I'm teeming with ghosts And I'm still whining for wives Knitting my brow But now I've surrendered In fact, I have joined in Hear us howling!