Shadows long and shadows short,
dance, writhe, or consort on the walls of Plato’s cave.
Shadows do not own their shapes
but rely on that of their origin—
whether alive or inanimate stone—
a shadow cannot survive alone.
As with the shadow persona of the mind:
lifting a roller-blind lets light in and
assimilating the shadow brings insight.
For the shadow is our unchosen choice—
that which we choose not to be, that which we,
consciously, refuse voice; and, whether
a voice of depravity or replete with creativity,
listening to both nurtures a healthy psyche.
Jeremy Gadd has previously contributed over 300 poems to literary magazines and periodicals in Australia, the United States, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium, Malaya, and India. He has MA Honours and PhD degrees from the University of New England, and his writing has won several literary awards. He lives and writes in an old Federation-era house overlooking Botany Bay, the birthplace of modern Australia.