My shadow follows me

I didn’t know we were friends

She only stays when I’m lit up

When the sun conquers the sky

And the world abides by the rules of day

Awake by habit, living to never have a say

My shadow follows me

A silent sentinel that lets me know I’m something

To be reflected onto something, I’m alive

And so I too will wake

When the sun conquers the sky

My shadow follows me

Anticipates my every move until I don’t know

Who I am, if all I am is what you knew I’d be

For you know everything I thought I knew before you

My shadow follows me

But only when the sun conquers the sky

And let’s you exist because I do, you are what I choose

But you have nothing to lose, dear shadow, you are stuck

You follow me, dear shadow

But all you are is what I am,

So when I am nothing but the dirt beneath your invisibility

When I have lost and loved and had enough

When Atlas loses his balance

When Helios’s chariot falls from the sky

Dear shadow, you won’t be missed

Because when the sun fails to conquer the sky

You’ll see the ground was never meant to be kissed

I tried to find a painting of Helios for the cover, but instead stumbled upon this painting called ‘The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani’ by J. C. Dollman. In Norse mythology, the wolves Sköll and Hati relentlessly chase the sun godess Sól and the moon god Máni across the sky, defining the cycle of day and night. It doesn’t necessarily have much to do with this poem, but I love stumbling upon unintentional rabbit holes, so I thought I’d include it. Thank you as always for your time and for reading my words so diligently. I won’t ever take it for granted, I promise. Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Love, Ella