The Shadow EaterA Poem by David Lewis PagetTheir shadows should have stepped side by side As once they had done before, But nobody noticed that one had gone From the boardwalk trace on the floor, They still paraded, down by the beach At the height of the afternoon, And friends would swear he was still in reach Though she wore an air of gloom.
Nobody actually spoke to them So it must have been hard to tell, Which of the couple was really there And which fallen under a spell, The law of shadows is crystal clear If you’re there, a shadow is cast, The sun shines through if it isn’t you For that’s its primary task.
It happens I knew the guy quite well And he had shadow to spare, While she was much more ephemeral, Was somebody not quite there. I wondered what had attracted him For she gave out a spray of gloom, There wasn’t that gay affinity That could gladly light up a room.
I watched as his life force faded away, His shadow to disappear, I told him he needed to leave that day Or the end of his world was near. But she reached out, and shooed me away, Seized hold of his wavering hand, Her eyes burned bright with an evil light, While his were blank and bland.
I know that we never conversed again I’d see him afar by day, She clung on tight to his fading light As she marched him around the bay, He hadn’t a shadow left to throw When at last he died on the beach, Condemned by her to a living hell As his life slipped out of reach.
He was laid to rest at St. Mary’s Cross While I waited for her to pass, To see if the shadow she stole from him Would still cleave to her, at last. But sunbeams shone through her mourning veil There was only mine could save, While I made sure as I stepped one back That she’d die by my brother’s grave.
David Lewis Paget © 2015 David Lewis PagetFeatured Review
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