The Shadow and the Light

The Shadow and the Light

By: G. M. Gingerelli

As you travel down the road to the place you long to go,

There are potholes, and detours, that impede the traffic flow.

But, you can learn to get around these obstacles you meet --

It’s the shadows you encounter that are hardest to defeat.

Though shadows come from nowhere, there are many different kinds.

Some are puppets of the light; and some are in our minds.

But, all are dark by nature, with a tendency to scare.

They lurk around a corner and leap when you get there.

In your imagination, just as in shifting light,

They change their shape, increase their size, and haunt you late at night.

And, just when you’ve escaped the long reach of one’s net,

Another one sneaks up on you and gives you cause to fret.

It traps you in its web and sticks to you like glue;

It’s murky composition can camouflage what’s true.

And, standing in that shadow, can block you from the sight,

That just a step or two away, the light is shining bright.

Remember that these shadows have an artificial lair;

When you cast a light upon them, there’s really nothing there.

A shadow has no substance; it occupies no space.

When trying to confront it, there’s nothing there to face.

But, if you need a weapon to joust with this old foe,

There’s one at your disposal-- you haven’t far to go.

For, escaping from the shadows is easiest, by far,

If you simply look inside you for the light of who you are.