This poem, Shadow's Banquet, echoes the themes of Visit, originally published in 2005 as the sixth chapter of my collection The Endless Chasm. In Visit, Shadow is portrayed through the eyes of a mortal, a metaphorical force lurking in the darkness of the dining hall. Nearly two decades later, Shadow has returned with a voice and a perspective of its own.
_____
They come, they knock, they open the door—
Unseen, I enter, and I am no more.
I am the groom; I am the bride,
Seated with you at the feast of divide.
Headless or whole, it matters not,
Marked by the fears your minds have brought.
The candle flickers, it does not see—
I devour in silence, as is my decree.
“...How may I help you?”, you dared to say.
And I, amused, in my Shadowy way,
Whispered a game for you to play.
“Walk towards the light, so bright,
And I shall refrain from a fatal bite.
But beware the places I call my night.”
Oh, how she turned him, the woman, tall,
Toward the candle that ruled the hall.
His head sprang back—it was mine to lend—
But the game, you see, has no true end.
For where you stand, behind the groom,
I rise, unchallenged, in the room.
Arrogance blinds; your doom takes flight,
For Shadow was born to thrive in your light.
I am the beast, the hungry abyss within—
You invited me here, and so I begin.
-- Pradeep K (Prady)
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