Shadow of a Man (started:4/20/2009,"finished":8/19/2009)

I
Falling into darkness
A man becomes his shadow
Gray and lifeless

He is, by his nature, evidence
That the light exists
But it has deserted him

There is no figure leading him
His path is free
But where should he go?

He flows over a static earth
Still feeling the sting
Of the rocky ground

Feeling a breeze through short hair
Two hands smoothly caressing
These are only memories to him

The closest he feels to being alive
Is sensing the slow puttering
Of cold raindrops

People carry on above him
They call him the lonely specter
Their own shadows avoiding him

Some offer him their hands
Only to scrape the surface
Hopelessly, he moves on

He find shelter in the night
Where no one can see his huddled figure
Leaving a trail of dew on the grass

II
On an afternoon of unusual cold
He was disturbed by the feeling of warm drops
Falling from above

He beheld the figure of a woman
And despite the haze from her tears
He knew he was beholding beauty

Escape
This was all she searched for
But instead she found him

As she became aware of his presence
Aware of what he was
She saw a sense of herself reflected in him

He had been brought so low
He had forgotten how it feels
Wanting to console another

But he knew he could offer her nothing
So they simply shared
In their common misery

He had never considered
Not being alone in his grief
But she is following his path

As she reveals her deep despair
He can feel her dragging closer
See her light dimming

Before he can realize
The harm he has done
He is forced silent

The shade of night approaches
His shape and voice disappear
As darkness creeps over the earth

She thinks he is gone
Does not realize he is still waiting
As she falls asleep by his side

III
At night, he is the darkness
He is driven to cover the light
But he will not let her follow

He fights away the shadows
Trespasses against nature
So she may lay there in light

The beauty of her figure
Once again overtakes him
As he feels himself begin to fade

He has assured she will not follow
She will not fall into darkness
And so he gladly pays the ultimate price

As his perception of the world weakens
He spends my strength focusing on her light
And softly ask her to remember him

He hopes the darkness
Will become a little lighter
Without him there

IV
A slight breeze
A touch of the hand
Yes, he recalls these feelings

But never so vividly
As that day he woke up
Next to his lovely Nova

His life has been given new breath
A new hope
Found through the darkest of means

She alone could pull him
From his desolate place
To find the light

For he saw it in her eyes
Though despair may have held her
He saw the promise of her life

He now sees a new light in her eyes
Telling him they will live their lives
To their fullest
Together

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