Ponderings and Poetry

My Shadow and Me

My shadow follows me everywhere.

It looms over me wherever I go.

I cannot escape my shadow and maybe it's intrinsically part of me. I often wonder when it first appeared. I don't remember seeing it in my childhood years. And yet here the shadow appears-

But why should a shadow drag me down? To the point that I am screaming, struggling, suffocating and yet no one can see. No one seems to notice that I am drowning, swallowing all of this hypocrisy. To the point that I can barely see- beyond my shadow and me.

My face is smiling, but the shadow is forever behind me- pointing me into the darkness, the corridor beyond where I should be.

I see them stop and stare. And yet I'm told the shadow isn't really there.

It's in your head! Just go to bed. Have a good night's sleep.

But the shadow is always there. It doesn't rest, or calm or sleep.

It dominates my thoughts till they're dragging around the chain that is my mind. Forcing me to consider my worth, whether I am really there.

That empty, sinking pit in my stomach stretches over and over until I feel it taking over. Is it true that we are dying?

The shadow watches and stares.

You may have a shadow too, I hope not, but

When that shadow comes to stay- remember it may be true-

But it will never be you.