Behind you, a stranger waits in the shadows. Not with a knife in hand, not with oiled whispers, nor with a trenchcoat lined with knockoff watches and a tale of woe. A quiet stranger, a stranger like you but unlike, with a left side like your right and vice versa. A stranger who kneels beneath your chair and leans her forehead against the wall, who licks at its white leaded paint and tastes the white as darkness, and dark as light. She hopes you’ll play a record soon. The sound of all that silence in the room just deafens her.
Photo by
Melodie McDaniel
For other posts inspired by this image, see
The Mag.
I really like the last line
ReplyDeleteDelicate lines, and pleasing...
ReplyDeleteVisions of Francesca Woodman's photographs here...evocative...
ReplyDeleteI agree. This one evokes something strong. I like it best that the shadow is licking the negative of the leaded paint.
ReplyDeleteyou get me on and on and stop me to just love the last line...
ReplyDeleteJJRod'z
Chilling. Very good.
ReplyDeletenicely done and thanks for sharing your words
ReplyDeletedang...a bit creepy...the licking of the lead paint...and perhaps a bit of yourself crouching there waiting....
ReplyDeleteI found this intriguing as if a little girl is waiting for her grown up version to tend to her..
ReplyDeleteit is a gentle shadow story
ReplyDeleteIntriguing poem, so much to find in this one a real mystery...loved how it took me places I didn't expect in my own head. Cool!
ReplyDeletewhat i like is the interest i develop in this stranger. i like the way you set an iconic scene of a shadow figure but quickly unveil her as something uncommon and exotic.
ReplyDeleteOh, Kathy, I recognize this scenario well, staring from the merest light into a mirror and contemplating that "other" on the opposite side of the leaded glass. Been there, still go there. Brilliant evocation and presentation of that image. ~J :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the line 'who licks at its white leaded paint and tastes the white as darkness' - standout!
ReplyDelete