My Shadow's Design

My Shadow's Design

My shadow is a whisper,
just a silent trace;
an outline of my presence
that longs to take my place.

It follows my successes
as I shine in the sun,
and secretly, it envies me
and all that I have done.

But when illness strikes me,
I leave that life behind.
No longer cosmopolitan
I live now in my mind.

My childhood dreams forgotten
I wilt and fade away.
I retreat from friends and family
and my shadow cannot stay.

When I look in the mirror
I tremble when I see
I have become my shadow;
my shadow's become me.