Life in Shadows

I have no real reason to publish this poem today, other than the fact that in the process of looking through my notebooks for a different one it spoke to me. I don’t even remember if there was a specific context to writing this beyond an occasional bout with mild depression that can probably linked to world-weariness mixed with general slothfulness. Basically, sometimes my life feels stagnant, and in those moments I sometimes wish it actually truly were stagnant. It’s worth noting that I was feeling this a week or two ago, but after a few days off to bounce between rest and a deep clean of my living room, I don’t feel that way at the moment. It’s amazing what some actual good rest will do for your soul.

Life in Shadows

Originally written April 30, 2017

Some days I truly wish that I could leave
No footsteps, no impressions on the Earth:
A silent shadow in a human sleeve,
Forgotten from the moment of my birth.
I’d speak to no-one, live my life alone.
No man an island, but a lady one.
I’d be as still and silent as a stone,
And crumple into dust when life is done.
But—I am seen and known and called by name,
An image bearer of an active God.
I’m here—the Earth can never be the same.
Although I try to hide, and feel a fraud,
I find I cannot sink into the ground.
No matter where I hide, I will be found.

Photo by Hongmei Zhao on Unsplash