Shadows

The shadows on the wall

are cast from no man.

They are creatures from the night

basking in the quiet illumination

of a mischievous moon

or a desk’s study lamp.

They frolic with uncommon zeal

to the momentous chords

created by the masters of music

preserved in time in my cloud.

It is perplexing

to watch and see them

darting from kindle to nook,

alive and vibrant,

and most of all,

carrying messages from another realm.

They herald the Beast Perspective

and call forth the action of the ages.

It is so strange

and so familiar.

For I was once

a shadow in the night.

I don’t know about you, but there are those

times, late at night, when these shadowy

creatures infest my Thinking Place.  No

doubt they are conjured by the Gnome.

Certainly I wouldn’t ask them in, sneaky

little devils they are.

From "A Gnome, A Candle, and Me."  Illustration by Chester Delacruz