Shadows of our former selves <br />wait for us at the turnings of conversations <br />in cul-de-sacs where there is no turning <br />in lies told, half-told and left unsaid, <br />in faces from the other lives we’ve led. <br /> <br />Shadows of our former selves <br />are Grimm creatures with invisibility cloaks <br />that they sweep aside in times of crisis <br />and as their haunting forms are brought to light <br />they change transparent day to doubtful night. <br /> <br />Shadows of our former selves <br />are not our friends but they can be disarmed. <br />The beam of present truth is hard and bright <br />and shadows shrink away in such a light.<br /><br />Janice Windle<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ups-and-downs-collection-shadows-of-our-former-selves/
