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Linden Lark Mar 26
I look down at the mirror and see
a me with flesh and blood in her teeth,
a grin washes across her face
as our eyes meet and carve out space.
I can’t bear to look at her at first—
the monster staring back at me.
I thought her words must be cursed.

“Looking away won’t save you from me.
We are already the same, you see—

You.
And.
Me.

So look away if you must,
but just know—
I’m in every shadow that you leave.
Every breath you take
gives life to me.”
This poem explores the unsettling relationship between self-awareness and fear—the way we avoid looking too closely at the parts of ourselves we don’t want to acknowledge. Inspired by folklore, reflection, and the idea that the things we try to escape are often the things we carry with us the most.
Sanama Mar 12
Doubts. Fear. A dark past.
We all have them-
but listen to me now:

We fight.
We fight our shadows,
our weakness,
our doubts-
and yet we rise our fist higher than before.

Fear is close- always near- but we move forward,
we don't let it take over us
we never let it win.

Our dark past.
Yes, they hurt.
But let them clear your path,
embrace them, hold them tight,
let them be your reminder:
You are stronger.

Grow like trees
some never watered,
yet they still rise-
breaking stone, reaching the skies.

Have the courage to rise from fear,
don't let it drown you deeper.
Stand tall.
Face your shadow- and fight.
We all have problems either is doubts, fear, or our past. We should remind to fight them and not let them drag us down the water.
Shofi Ahmed Mar 11
Light upon the light
High atop the high
Let the lucky brow
Paradise shines
May your most beautiful eyes
Cast a glance!

Let it light up  
A candle in front of the mirror.  
Ah, wild glimpses—  
Ultimately nuanced,  
An enduring treasure,  
Eternity in shadow,  
Gently showing up.  

Dear, the buzz is all in bloom.  
Without one, nothing is whole.  
The sun scrolls down in sizzling gold,  
Never derailing, never sliding back,  
Looping into the shrouded night.  
The color is half full, half light,  
Hues reflecting a zillion stars.  

Time moves in discovery,  
Ever burning the midnight oil—  
The humble moon,  
Lingering beneath your midnight-black locks.  
The color, the fire—will it be the first to spot  
Your veiled face, the true morning rose?
Maryann I Mar 8
I feel so unreal,
a shadow slipping through the cracks.
Reality is humbling—
it bends, it breaks, it shifts like glass.

What is reality
but echoes in an empty hall?
Are you sure you’re even real—
or just a dream that learned to crawl?
The shadows come at night
They make everything feel alright
Who hasn’t ever stopped to think
You can hide away and shrink
Into depths unknown
By yourself all alone
Time ceases to exist
Your own eternal bliss
Nothing seems quite the same
Something magical you can trace
Solidarity with the night
Like a blanket
Now it’s all ok
You never have to be afraid
Something i can see
A cosmic journey from the start
It tears apart your heart
Something different something new
—Timothy Charles Carter
Maryann I Mar 6
A hush upon the water’s crest,
where morning spills in golden rest,
a figure drifts in light’s embrace—
a dancer poised in fluid grace.

She bends, she sways, a feathered sigh,
her alabaster wings comply,
each ripple waltzes at her feet,
as if the lake and she compete.

No step misplaced, no hurried flight,
she moves as if she weighs but light,
a whisper in the dawn’s repose,
where every motion softly flows.

Yet in the dusk where moonlight wanes,
another shadow breaks the chains.
A glint of coal, a sharpened glide,
a phantom in the silver tide.

Her beauty sings a darker song,
a wilder pulse, both fierce and strong.
No fragile twirl, no measured bow—
she rules the water, here and now.

She cuts the lake with silent power,
the night bends low, the stars turn sour.
A haunting echo in her wake—
a ghost of grace, a breath to take.

One swan to soothe, one swan to strike,
one day, one night, both wrong, both right.
Two echoes spun from fates untold—
one draped in white, one cloaked in gold.
Steve Page Mar 3
Night Portraits
And Night Landscapes
Leave shadows for us to fill
Or to leave full
of nocturnal potential
Viewing paintings at a local art space.
Grey Feb 27
Ive walked alone all through

The silence promising torture

Yet nobody bothered to shadow

And when i did get a shadow

That made the rays less scorching

It became a thing

To condemn my soul

To condemn my company

It Didn't matter

That my smiles were bigger

On some days brighter

Its their own thoughts,
Their own designs

That was most important

Yet its ironic

How clueless

How self absorbed they are

That its my soul

Never theirs

And I've never tried to disarm theirs
"I like you!"
I wished to shout,
Something rare, right about.
A spark that burned through.

But I never knew you,
Well, it was for an instant—
We came upon,
I saw you, only you.
(And you never saw me.)

You never saw me,
I was translucent.
A shadow,
A breath between moments.
A whisper lost in crowded hums.

What we could be—
You never thought to oversee
Yet, only I hesitated.
Only I remained reluctant.
Only I remained reluctant.
A love at first sight.
A love that lasted a moment
A moment of bliss
Traveler Feb 16
I love pleasure
I can deal with pain
Freezing freaking snow
Sunshine after rain  

I’m not afraid to live
I’m not scared of death
I shall consume existence
Til’ there’s absolutely nothing left!

I’m not afraid of my shadow
As discussing as I’ve been
I can still embrace
My foolishness within!
Traveler 🧳 Tim

Carl Jung approved
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