I am a shadow of someone

my own age,

wandering around, bartering,

and sagging at the waist

I am a shadow

of someone who smirks crookedly,

picks up where he left off,

and dies on the spot;

a jester

with a myocardial infarction & cancer

Yes, I am a shadow of someone

uncannily alike,

dead tired,

ashes to ashes

I am a shadow

beneath drifting skies

and widening horizons;

the shadow of a chance

in someone perpetually unreal,

waking from incomprehensible dreams

in the early morns

watching dawn prepare itself for noon

and the end of life;

a shadow among conscripted soldiers

and tenant farmers;

among recruits with twisted mustaches

on yellowed photographs;

a dissolved outline

in due course's ever extended shadow;

a glint over the crust of snow

in the harsh light of war

piercing every crack & crevice;

a stark shadow over the crowd;

a proclaimer of benedictions & the King's toast