Am I but a shadow, a silhouette?
If I step into the light, will I reveal myself
Or will I disappear?

Do I exist between worlds of light?
Am I just a bookmark betwixt meaningful pages?
Or do I inhabit a unique world of my own?

How does a shadow become enlightened?
How does a note become a tune?
Do I need others to complete me?

As shadows stretch into night
I contemplate the end of day
All paths regardless of way
Lead to the same darkened site

My loves, pleasures and woes
My regrets, desires and dreams
Flowing in chaotic streams
Eventually reach a final close

The brightness of youth
Burning with a fire of hope
Probable necessity to cope
Slowly absorbs accidental truth

Lust and romance
Draw us to warmth and flame
Steps in an endless game
A must desired musical dance

Ambition and career
An overcoming of insecurity
All a part of one’s maturity
Protecting families of financial fear

In the final hours
It’s all about memories and regrets
Failures to hedge all bets
A solitary accounting of what’s ours

interlocking sight
first day then night
a diminution of the light

the sun brings clarity
darkness uses similarity
there is some parity

vision always seeks verity

lingering swamp mist
over silent sentinels
mysteries lie neath

the shadows whisper
eternal winter is near
summer is dying

it was the dying of my innocence
the end of artless play
a consciousness of gender
that remains this very day

a yearning for carnal pleasure
that underlies all social contact
awakening and altering my senses
couldn’t foresee its total impact

there are stages of development
where there is no turning back
that forever change your journey
and put you on a different track

there's birth and death in every moment
no meaning unless you make
a necklace of those beads