Shadows

The world does not see
Your devoted shadow,
The ghost whose presence,
Entwined with yours,
Forms an intricate, twisted,
Dual existence.

They have no knowledge
Of the voice in the darkness
That whispers "I love you."
They can't comprehend
The pleasure derived
From adoration breathed,
In stolen moments
Of reckless connection.

No-one can know
I'm the piece of the puzzle
That makes you complete.
The creator of words
That hearten your soul,
Smoothing the flaws
In your imperfect life.

Yet I'm pushed away
Into clandestine corners,
My devotion deleted
Seconds after reading
And, as for real contact
Where true love blossoms
In fostering sunlight?

Shadows can't embrace.
Shadows can't show love.

Our encounters are fleeting,
Frustratingly non-tactile flashes,
Disregarded flippantly
As 'coffee with a friend.'

And what of you?
What are you to me?
How can I accommodate
Your tender words,
Those secretive promises?
Or the momentary caress
That renders me
Weak at the knees?
How can your illicit affection
Find a place in my heart?

It can't.
You're a shadow to me.
You're pushed away
Into clandestine corners,
Your devotion deleted
Seconds after reading
And, as for real contact
Where true love blossoms
In fostering sunlight?

I daren't embrace you
Any more than you, me,
Although 'coffee with a friend'
Never enters my mind.
You are not mine,
I am not yours.
Even so, you're my world.

Funny how life works,
How time revolves
In damaged circles
Rife with hairline cracks
Through which shadows fall.
Our pre-destined paths
Should never have crossed,
Yet, lurking in the shadows
Of the cyber cosmos,
We collided head on.

And here we are,
Veiled in unseen realms
With our love thriving,
Growing steadily stronger
As if inversely nurtured
By an absence of light.

Shadows are shapeless illusions,
Desperate daydreams
Skulking on the periphery
Of what's deemed to be real.

But shadows do fall in love,
And shadows yearn for substance.