A shadow,
wall’s smile,
speaks with the authority
of light:
you wouldn’t survive without me;
you couldn’t succeed without me.
Your distinctiveness, your uniqueness
would be unborn or lost without me.
The shadow,
taken for light,
reaches into the blood,
ligaments, bones,
is trusted like a mother
or childhood friend.
It advises you.
You are set apart
from others;
You are the doer
of what needs to be done,
doer of good deeds;
you are the one
who fails or succeeds.
The years witness too
the other children
of the shadow,
sadness and loss.
The years witness too
the weary, diminished you
unable to do what you used to do.
That which is set apart
in vigorous youth
becomes the saddened heart.
That which, luminous, stands apart
becomes a target
of time’s poisonous dart.
That which, luminous, stands apart
creates its own strife.
Would that trust be reposed
instead in life,
the very source of breath!
In creating yourself
you also create your death.
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