One Dozen Eggs

Shadows

Sometimes these days I can recall

The shadows on my infant wall

Their childish menace fades away

Against the shadows of today

I had a dog, I called him Blue

He followed me as if he knew

Some secret I had not yet learned

About respect that is not earned

My father’s hands were large and worn

They dragged me from my comfort bed

And sent my senses spinning round

The tiny space within my head

My mother’s touch was soft and warm

For years she shielded me from harm

I still remember things she said

Her gentle kiss upon my head

And I remember Michael Flynn

My hands upon his soft brown skin

Beneath the stars one summer night

When all at once my world felt right

One step, one word, one look, one day

Instinctively I knew the way

To go, but now that time has passed

I have to question what I’ve lost

Against the sky I have no space

Amongst the clouds I have no place

But still I cast my shadow down

Along a street without a name