A blurry snapshot

Like all of the others this snapshot is founded very much in the shadows. So much so that one of the first questions that arise is where in the midst of the shadows is our subject? You won’t see him if you look too closely or carefully as he doesn’t want to be seen. Perhaps if you look away and look back you will catch a fleeting glimpse of something. You may not know what it was you saw, but a part of you would have registered it.

Amidst the shadows is a large overcoat, time has bleached it of a specific colour and the shadows have tinged it grey. However there is a pattern that distinguishes it from its surroundings and someone in the middle of the overcoat is the reason for its existence. At first he thought he hid there because it was warm and re-assuring like a kindly grandfather but now he wonders if there’s more than that.

In case you hadn’t guessed there’s a little boy hidden in the middle of the overcoat deep in the shadows. At first it was a safe place for a boy who’d been left behind to hide, then it was a little tight and smelled ‘gamey’. Now it’s squeezing and choking as without his realising the little boy has become a man and neither of them know how to escape from of their prison.

Sh

Reaching for the demon’s hand

Was it a fear the angels had left you behind,

That made you reach for the demon’s hand?

Was it the doubt that you weren’t worth the light,

That made you retreat into the shadows?

Was it the worry idea your song wouldn’t be heard,

That made you take a vow of silence?

Was it the terror of being left alone,

That made you accept the demon’s touch?

Was it dread the angels wouldn’t call your name

That has made you invisible.

Was it the trauma of childhood,

That made you old before your time?

Sh