The Shadow's Debt

I looked at the ground today,

watching my shadow stretch across the dust.

It follows me everywhere,

copying my walk, mimicking my silence.

But I realized, my shadow is older than I am.

It carries the weight of the man I used to be,

and the secrets of the man I am afraid to become.

I am a man of character,

standing tall in the golden hour of the city.

But inside, I am just a collection of broken mirrors.

No status can fix the cracks in my soul,

no empty degree can teach me how to talk to the dark.

We are all just actors in a digital theater,

clapping for ourselves while the heart stays quiet.

I squeezed my eyes,

tightly pushing my palms together.

I wanted to step out of my own skin,

to leave the shadow behind and just be light.

But the grit of life is in the darkness too.

You cannot have the sun without the silhouette.

I am a new life, they say,

but I am still carrying the old ghosts in my pocket.

I stopped walking.

The shadow stopped too.

In that silence, I understood.

Success is not running away from your past.

It is being brave enough to turn around

and shake hands with your own shadow.

Stay firm in your art.

Stay loyal to your demons.

The universe is not looking for perfect people.

It is looking for the ones who are real.