The Forest of Shadows

I stand in the forest of shadows

Surrounded by figures in the dark

The light here is uncertain

The trees acting as a curtain

I am not alone

Through the valley I must go

Darkness growing darker

Figures reaching out to me

Their vast and empty stares

Branches waving

Figures swaying

Shapes moving closer

I stand now at the lake

Reflections sparkling on the water

But to call them stars would be a mistake

“Come to us,” they call

Their voices so quiet, so small

And now I am surrounded

The darkness closing in

“Come to us,” they call

They reach out with their shadows

To the ground I fall

I stand here in the shade

A home here, I have made

When I see figures in the night

My heart is filled with great delight

I call to them: “Do not be afraid”

They look at me: “I fear my light shall fade”

I offer them my welcome

The forest of shadows, this place, my home

Where shadows speak when darkness shows

How fond of it my heart has grown

I’ve finally a place to call my own

(The Forest of Shadows later became the story by the same name in You, Man, Emotion)