I hear footsteps in the hallway, but it could just be the wind. I see flashes; they’re blurry. (I’m not sure they’re real).

I can’t get into some of the rooms in my head, but I know shadows hide behind the doors. my body keeps score of a game I don’t recognize—some locks

aren’t meant to be picked. not knowing

is its own form of a haunting.

we are the shadows

the dregs of the earth

recording the world

through skewed souls

we write like rats

scratching all night

unceasingly clawing

within walls invisible

we vermin who analyze

burrow beneath the rabble

leaving shabby unkept trails

of upturned word tunnels

deep down dark damned

eyes blinded by the light

incessantly incising ideas

bloody nails on chalkboard

Around the block

and drawn back

into the depth

of fresh grounds

of dark aromatics

of essential oils

of the buried

well anointed

half truths,

that abound

through the jog

at night and

on waking up

the Shadow,

has your back

inside and out.

02.05.2024

Where do shadows hide? challenge @AJAY9979

if my heart cast a shadow,

would you look for me in

basic anatomy, the underlying

veins and arteries?

if my lungs cast a shadow,

would you see the black,

the smoke that got stuck

in between every crevice?

if my internet search history

cast a shadow, would you see

that I am trying so hard

to get better at this writing thing?

if my personal history cast a shadow,

would it be spring?

or would it be perpetually winter

another six weeks

of the same stories recycled

over and over until they don't

mean anything?

Deep beneath the sea,

where no shadows hide,

is where you’ll find Octopus and me

daydreaming in darkness, silently.

In the caverns of my mind,

where my shadow hides sparingly,

you’ll find Octopus and me

meditating in suspended harmony.

Octopus, you may be wondering,

is an octogenarian like me,

looking for brotherly company.

Craftily hiding in plan sight.

Behind those black eyes.

Waiting to feed on its next victim.

Thriving and growing with negative energy.

Draining the joy and love out of beauty.

Be strong little one.

Create a bubble around yourself.

Protect yourself.

And always be aware -

Those soul suckers have amazing disguises.

Dark, foreboding shadows

Linger, suffusing

Evening’s lack of light

They rise to surface,

Unbidden and unwanted,

Luring you to distraction,

The brink of no return.

*

Against their unreality and

The ramifications

Imposed therein,

Fight with bated breath

To banish them away,

Dispersing them back

From whence they came.

*

Breathe deeply.

With tactful tranquilization,

Illuminate the shadows

To secure comfort whilst

Obviating the darkness and

Narrowing the threat of

Impending doom.

Under the rays of light, shadows linger.

Under the cloak of darkness, we now reside.

We are the ones who once glimmered.

Now we are the ones who must subside.

You ask where the shadows hide.

We commute behind the glistening sun and its shimmering tide.

You will see us if you try.

You will sense us behind you.

Or see us out of the corner of your eye.

You will understand one day.

Will you join us in the shadows?

You will see why we hide.

We are the ones some have forgotten.

We are the ones who were once alive.