The Always Present Silent Shadow
“Are there not things everywhere around us that are incapable of explanation?”
Camara Laye
(“The African Child”)
The shadow was jumping up an’ down, then bending over, and standing still as it patiently watches, the agitated man, taking note of his constantly changing and adjusting shadow
The shadow screams outraged silently, as the man screams loudly and angrily at it
Not at all, worried by the man’s and therefore by its creator’s actions
The shadow curiously stops for a while to look at the man once again intently observing it
Always contentedly following him everywhere he went
The impatient man starts stomping and violently pounding his feet on his elusive but troubling ever present shadow companion on the ground
Tired of its forever presence, panting heavily and profusely sweating from his energetic actions
To once and for all free himself from his endless shadow companion
The man, steps under a large tree, smiling and he laughs while pulling his beer out of his pocket and taking a long hard drink
Which, visibly causes him to shiver in utter delight
He takes some papers and pictures out of his pocket and proceeds to tear them up in small pieces
And he throws the different pieces on the ground, which a strong gust of wind further scatters all around him in this quite busily car infested middle-class part of a bright day in Los Angeles
The shadow still confidently looks at him, invisibly to himself, as he looks around
Defiantly slapping himself on his chest before once again walking back into the hot sun
Where his silent shadow immediately jumps back to life and happily welcomes him back, doing a silly two-step in the process while staggering sideways
The very well-dressed man curses and spits on his shadow, which does not respond to his taunts
His haunting companion ironically imitates his mannerisms and quietly saunters along behind him
At a slight remove, while shaking its shadowy head, and exasperatingly shrugging its exaggerated, large sagging shoulders before uncontrollably bursting out in laughter under the warm Californian sun.
©Gregory Gilbert Gumbs
