The Shadow

Your absence felt like a lone streetlight.

Buzzing.

Moths gently tapping the plastic.

And mine?

Fear it wasn’t the same

Clinging like a shadow.

Call it pathetic.

Call it insecure.

Call it what it is.

It never went away.

Not when you excitedly told others of our plans

not knowing I was near.

Not when you fueled me every night

when my journey became long.

Not when we laid our heads in the same spot

for so many sundowns

I forgot what it was like to not.

But slowly light fragmented the shadow and shone—

The twinkle in your eyes

when you meet me at the door,

my hair a mess, my nerves raw,

exhausted from water cooler gossip,

ready to pull me in.

Knowing hands working weary muscles

without request.

A casual “where ya goin”

when I leave the room

once an annoyance

now a reassurance.

An acknowledgment.