Ubiquitous Shadows
by Odin Roark

To run,
To walk,
To escape the shadows
Where hiding is not an option,
Lays bare one’s isolation.

Like a suffocating vapor,
Grayness wraps around yesterday,
Rendering tomorrow colorless,
Extending time as but ghostly fragments
Seeking resolve.

Outside…

Mounds of darkened existence,
Buildings,
Trees,
The undying subway L
Beneath pervasive construction cranes,
Crowd together further shadows
Chronicling time passing to many,
Yet oh so intimate its specter to some.

Inside…

Furtive lips purse softly the soothing hum,
The sound that helps ease guilt and remorse,
The ohm that only few hear,
The garroting shadows still others sadly perceive,
The behind-phantom-bars feeling many steadfastly hide,
The many guises depression knows all too well.