Ghosted

Originally created for Damn Joan Magazine.

Ghosted: On Silent Loss by Perrin R. Ireland
I lost my ghosting virginity this past summer
Sure, I'd heard of this "Ghosting" thing. Firsthand accounts, even! But what could a person possibly be doing that a simple "nope", at least, was so impossible to produce?!
Was he doing harm reduction with opioid users?
Was he in Puerto Rico, helping build community-owned solar grids after Hurricane Maria? Sexy! Reasonable!
Was he spending his free time prepping Hakeem Jeffries's sizzling' cross-examination of Jeff Sessions? A hot reason not to text!
Are all his fingers smashed? Is he in a coma? Where can I send "wake up" flowers?
Do ghosters go extinct?
Was he suffering the onset of male habitat loss?
How could it be that I was so panicked by the disappearance of a perfect stranger?!
As we violently hemorrhage our planetary cohabitants, who silently disappear forever, is there a deep current of anxiety that I was tapping into?
Maybe this crazy feeling was about a very big collective loss that we don't know how to collectively grieve, honor, or even connect about. No wonder I felt bonkers. This ghosting is well worth grieving.
I want to grieve these silent losses more loudly. Wildly. Love, Perrin

< Previous: Fouling Communities

 

Next: Climate Grief >