the day shadows fractured

wasn't unusual... at first.

children jumping rope,

while their shadows continue

bouncing long after the children stop.

the sun rises, but

the shadows linger where

they make no sense.

a dog crosses the street

but its shadow lingers,

sniffing unseen objects

oblivious to its counterparts absence.

i noticed, as i returned

home, a figure waiting

in the closed door.

i sensed a familiarity

as it walked across the

lawn, active without. me,

yet being me.

leaving me feeling an odd sense of lightness,

in a dark, uneasy way.

like a part of me,

something that’s always there, is missing.