Three

A boy standing behind my shadow.

A man whose shadow I am.

We walk together reluctantly all hand in hand.

 

The boy tugging behind me hard,

Crying and bickering all the time.

The man in the front doesn't care.

He walks towards some place, I don't know where.

So together we walk, following his steps.

I query him for telling me,

In this darkness, where does he think that he is taking me?

He doesnt care, he marches ahead, wobbly steps in a drunken haze.

Slowly the fear starts to creep in.

I try hard to lose his gripping.

And so I finally I let go of that child's arm.

Use both of my hands to free my arm from that man's arm.

Finally I am free from the shackles of being in three.

 

The boy standing behind my shadow.

The man whose shadow I am.

We walk together merrily all hand in hand.

Author's Note

Any criticism is welcome.

Reviews

[UC Poika]

That is my kind of poem, even though I may not fully agree with the premise for what they made of the child is present with us to some extent always even in the letting go for we could not let go unless it had been built in. Wonderful write. Thought provoking. I like.

[New Theory]

Thank you for the review. :) Yes the person is not letting go as I mentioned in the last three stanzas, your past just can't be abandoned but finally gaining strength from it.

[Ayushi]

Lovely and very imaginative...:)
Your work is always creative .

[New Theory]

Thank you Ayushi.. :). I try to be as descriptive as you. You have a very good vocabulary.

[Ayushi]

Thanks :)
Yes I too try to be descriptive :p

[New Theory]

:)...... looking forward to more of your poems :)

[Savannah Bly]

Wow! This was amazing and fresh. Truly, a wonderful and reflective write!

[New Theory]

Thanks savannah :)

[Shaquana Adams]

No criticism. I just really enjoyed this, especially the freedom. Out to make people think huh? Nicely penned!
-QuanaWana

[New Theory]

Thank you Shaquana :)

[Miles W.]

Man, you have a way of crafting life into words. I am very impressed with your writing.

[New Theory]

Thanks so much Miles :). Your compliments really inspire me to keep writing.

[Bluefire]

Weird.
I got a little lost near the middle but found my way back after a line or two.
It's like an odd dream carved in black and white.
Interesting. ^^

[New Theory]

You got the scene right, Its about me, the young boy is my past, the old man is my future. In this poem, I wanted to convey that by hanging on to the past and future, the sadness of past and the fright of future is a huge burden, hence I let go of my past burden leaving its hands, I was finally able to control my future as no longer I was afraid of it.

It is basically about living in the present.

Thank you so much for the review. :)

[Bluefire]

Amazing! I didn't get it at first.
No problem. ^^

[New Theory]

........................ :)

[Sonam]

A Lovely poem showing the way we live and the way we should.....Great work....

[New Theory]

Thank you Sonam. :)

[Anita Singh]

Oh! How could I have missed this? You have described so wonderfully the past, the present and the future. I loved how the sentence changed from "We walk together reluctantly" to "We walk together merrily". It is best to make peace with the past and accept the future.

[New Theory]

Thank you Anabella for this wonderful review, yes I think its the best way to live,i.e. in the present free from past woes and just doing what you like to do.

[Radhika]

Its an amazing comparison you have made .
The crying and bickering boy tugging you from behind is the bad memories of your past hindering you ; and i suppose following the path of the man walking forward refers to one's anxious nature of knowing what lies in the future.
And finally we decide to make peace with our past and let go of the fear of future to merrily live the present !

This is really one of the best poems i've read ! Hope you write more like this !

[New Theory]

Thank you so much Radhika, so kind of you :)

[lost girl]

reminds me of a poem I wrote long ago in my youth:) Finding one's self through all the shadows is very amazing! So glad you could join us here and let us share in your journey. Inspiring write!

[New Theory]

Thank you so much, I am glad my poem could do that for you :)