"When they talk of ghosts of the dead who wander in the night with things still undone in life, they approximate my subjective experience of this life"

Jack Henry Abbott draws on the haunting metaphor of ghosts to evoke a sense of existing in a world rife with unresolved intentions and lingering incompletion. The invocation of "ghosts of the dead who wander in the night" immediately conjures an image of restless spirits bound to the earth, tethered by the weight of tasks or desires left unfulfilled. These figures occupy a liminal space, neither fully alive nor truly departed, as if suspended between worlds by the gravitational pull of unfinished business. For Abbott, such imagery closely parallels his own inner landscape, his subjective experience of life feels akin to that of a specter, moving silently and invisibly through the world, surrounded by shadows of regret and the ache of unrealized potential.

Living burdened by things "still undone in life" is to constantly feel beset by the past, unable to lay it to rest. Every day becomes a nocturnal wandering, with memory and longing acting as chains that prevent forward motion. The line suggests an existential alienation, a sense that one is not fully participating in life, but rather observing it, haunted by missed chances or actions not taken. Abbott’s words resonate with those who have experienced profound loss, remorse, or circumstances that have curtailed their agency, instilling a chronic sense of incompleteness.

The metaphor also offers an indictment of a society or personal history that leaves individuals fragmented, unable to achieve closure or peace. For someone like Abbott, whose life included incarceration and social marginalization, the analogy underscores a broader commentary on how certain conditions compel people to dwell in perpetual limbo. The ghosts are not just the dead; they are the living, whose spirits wander untethered, their sense of self caught between aspiration and the harsh reality of what remains unrealized. The quote’s poignancy lies in its ability to universalize the feeling of being ghostlike, alienated, incomplete, and ceaselessly searching for resolution.