IF WE SHADOWS....

it was as if a cloud
a cloud had fallen asleep
in the lower field

it had already eaten
an unhitched wagon
and half a red barn

it watched us approaching
from the yellow
windowed house

where the babies
lay asleep
blowing spit bubbles

it seemed to smile
in a giant grey
candy floss way


then started in on
first you
and then

me or what
was left of me
that I could see

it had eaten all of you
except
your excited voice

all you
could see of me was
my nervous laughter

we had been
evicted from
our known selves

and there was
no known
forwarding address

we were
all points of
the compass at once

“Moo!”
commented a cow
on the situation at hand

and “Moo” mimicked the cloud
having had
eaten everything

there was no place to live
except
inside our thoughts

and our thoughts
walked our bodies
towards the barn that

like Mr. Schrödinger's cat
was either there or
either not

“Moo!” said a moo
“Moo!”
said another moo

one moo
almost the clone
of the other one

we had arrived
we were
now here

suddenly our arms legs
and other
bits of our bodies

returned to us
thanks to
a light switch

that made us
in our own
image

we
owned
ourselves again

the cloud
was sleeping
in the field

one could almost
imagine it
snoring

I clapped
my hands together
“Ok!” I said

“…let’s
get on with
the milking!"