Short Shadow Of His Former Self Poems

a shadow of her former self
I barely recognized her
surprised to meet her here today
at the cancer treatment ward
in the lobby of life’s casualties

~


AP:  Honorable Mention 2020

Submitted on September 16, 2019 for contest CROSSROADS sponsored by SILENT ONE

Originally posted on February 20, 2019...

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Singing to an empty well,
all that echo back are screams.
Visions of demons lie before me,
ripples in the inky water.
Heaven found in a man's killing touch,
and still there is no escape.
Nightmare wishes come to life,
stumbling blocks along my way.
Silver tongued devil waiting to wake me,
to the shadow of my former self....

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Whispers in the darkness,
the shadows they move in. 
haunting echoes of my heartbeat 
falling on deaf ears.
The darkness it enfolds me, 
Casting bitterness within my heart. 
I am a shadow of my former self.
An empty and hollow husk,
Cracked and broken beyond repair. 
Leave me in the shadows
Let me stay here,
Until the day death claims me
And I no longer care....

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Listen to poem:

My shadows staring back at me
but it’s a shadow of its former self
Its looks like someone else’s shadow
it’s not  the one that I used to cast
Should I mourn its passing 
this missing shadow from my past
or celebrate my new best friend
the shadow I now cast 
This new shadow quite slimline
moves with speed across the ground
not  a shadow of my former self
but the shadow of who I am...

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In the distance silence echoes
Fairness betrays its purpose
Salt watered lips aren't good for kissing
Life just sucks sometimes

I'm merely a shadow of my former self
There’s no escaping, its all in my head
Mentally barricading myself from the world
All of you gone

I would pray for you to seek me out
You wouldn't recognize me as I am 
It matters not, my worth has vanished
Just because...

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Sitting Pretty 


when you're not looking

do you consider me 

what i'm thinking

why i stay

away 

did you know that i do

your 

not mine

and i'm a nobody's girl

suffocated

by those who were looking at me looking back at them

willing then

took their kill

i stay away

even when you are looking

especially then

been bled out

i'm just a shadow of my former self

sitting pretty someplace else



aeh | 12/20/13...

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Starved of work his sharpened blade
is dulled by anonymity,
feckless, drifting here and there,
he has no true identity,
time has no fidelity,
and space has no consistency,
he has no frames of reference to rely on. 
 
Work is the measure of the man,
his strengths and limitations.
Now, shrunken wallet, shineless shoes
and shrinking reputation,
a shadow of his former self,
a soulless apparition
wholly spent, a stranger to the seasons....

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Starved of work his sharpened blade 
is dulled by anonymity, 
witless, drifting here and there, 
he has no true identity, 
time has no fidelity, 
and space has no consistency, 
there are no frames of reference to rely on. 

Work is the measure of the man, 
his strengths and limitations. 
Now, shrunken wallet, shabby shoes 
and shrinking reputation, 
a shadow of his former self, 
a soulless apparition all but spent, 
a stranger to the seasons....

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They gather round the hospital bed
United in a communal dread
Brothers, sisters, daughters and sons
Here to see the departing one

For there's no way back,
The doctors relate
And the poor old boy
Will soon meet his fate

A life cut short
By the demon drink
So into the ground
His body will sink

He didn't want it to end like this
A pale shadow of his former self
And faintly reeking of piss

But that's the way 
It's sadly to be
At least his soul
Will soon be free...

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The moons been up all night again
He’s looking rather pale
Been burning the candle at both ends
And now it’s beginning to tell
By the end of the month he will be
A shadow of his former self
It’s only a matter of time
Before people start to click
He’s not just an all night raver
But a total lunatic
He doesn’t seem to care though
Look at him up there
Sipping on the star juice 
Totally full of him self
Give him time 
His day will come
See if he’s looking on the bright side then....

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