THE SHADOW STEALER
written by: Dilip Mohapatra
@dilipmo
Come let me take you on a guided tour
of my secret vault where I have kept
all the shadows I have stolen over the years.
Shadows of all shapes and sizes
and of all shades and hues
not discriminating the masterpieces from
the counterfeits
the brittle from the malleable
the fractured from the whole
and the frozen from the ones on fire.
Have a look at the first shelf
that contains the moist and misty
shadows of your eyes
And just next to that the soft and red
shadows of your smiles along with
the hard and grey shadows of your silence
and the viscous fluid patch in the next case
the imprint of your flowing tresses
making ripples on the sands.
The next urn contains the pulsating and throbbing
shadows of your heart on fire
surrounded by the subtle and sublime shadows
of your spirit and soul.
The second shelf has a chiaroscuro
of fading shadows of the past
the menacing shadows of the present and
the ominous shadows of the future.
The shadows of doubt and deceit
of loathing and malice
of greed and grief
of ingratitude and infidelities
which I have sealed with utmost care
giving them no chance to escape.
The last casket in the corner
covered in a white shroud
contains the pale and merciless shadows
of your death
imprisoned and locked up for ever.
I have lost my very own shadow long ago.
How long ago
I don’t remember
neither have I any knowledge if any one
has stolen it from me
or was it dissolved in the pool of my tears
or blown away with my sighs
or consumed by my passion and lust for life.
But thankfully I am free from its
cold and contemptuous looks
and its accusing fingers
and I am happy with all the shadows
that belong to you and what I have stacked here
that are under my command
and at my beck and call.
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