I've walked often with my shadow self lately
I've watched this dark outline of myself
And my self
in the light of soft mornings,
face turned to the cool breeze
should there happen to be one,
And I've seen it crouch nearly beneath my feet
in the blazing midday sun
Together we have wandered, this companion and I
in the mystic glow of moonlight
as well as the harsher glare of streetlights
And I wondered about this silent image
who mirrors so well what all I do
without giving evidence of
who she might be inside
behind the curtain of darkness
that was her exterior
I began by practicing
'visual'
and by observing from the corner of the eye,
the movement of and with each step *
and the pause to savor the feel of the wind *
or to touch a leaf or branch in passing
I noted the flutter of garments
and the wisping of hair
around or across of away from the face
And always I compared the way it looked
with the way it felt
Thus was born the beginning
of revision
Re-vision
To look at thoughts, emotions,
situations and patterns
To decide which to keep for your own
and which to dispose of as
weighty and unnecessary
To rewrite or redefine the Self
by seeking out and acknowledging
the best of who we are,
the shedding of who we don't care to be,
And the coloring in of the shadow
in any colors we choose
© Shelley L. Flynn
07/02
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