me and my shadow

moritz von schwind a player with a hermit

while listening

to the songs of life

cleverness throws down shadows

and protects me

from the possibility

that i might tell you

stories

that are very true

and so very real

stories about the dark gems

that make their home

in those shadows

dark gems

that are as much who i am

as the star-crossed jewels that i share so freely

my fear is that

they might

reveal that i

am made of things

you could not bear

to see inside yourself

or someone that you loved

that my flaws would become your only sight of me

and you might let me go

this is a learned process

learned

in order to be

gradually unlearned

i am the product

of my self

sullied in part and places

by the life i've led

i am the dream of all that

i could have been

and done

and said

and left behind

and all that i am

i am a box containing moments

you could hold

before your eyes

and you could

(as i sometimes do)

admire

each and every one

as if it were

a jewel

bending

in its crystalline perfection

the colours of life

but in my cleverness

i hide

unsure

of my intentions

the key to the corridor of shadows

well-hidden

the map

to its hiding place

left out in the rain

has mouldered soft

and gone to earth