Saturday 31 March 2018

THE COLD MAN’S COWARDLY SHADOW


We’ve all heard of someone who’s ‘afraid of their own shadow,’
But, out of the blue, frosty Hugh knew his shadow lived in fear.
Hugh first had a clue from how seldom his shadow would appear.
Even the brightest, sunniest conditions hardly made it clear.
Hugh hated feeling in the dark about it,
Not knowing why his shadow wasn’t bringing up the rear.
He’d read somewhere that vampires had no shadows,
Or was it they weren’t reflected in mirrors (which he was!)?
In any case, Hugh couldn’t even stand the sight of blood,
Let alone consider developing a taste for it.

Besides, he didn’t really believe in vampires, what could be as daft?
A shadow that was scared, he thought and very nearly laughed.
To take his mind off things, usually Hugh liked to read,
But Hank Marvin’s autobiography: ‘A Shadow of My Former Self,’
Disturbed him with its title; he worried about his mental health.
Approaching forty, Hugh had no illusions about his future life,
Middle-aged with mental health issues, he’d be unlikely to attract a wife,
And probably he’d end up left on the shelf, which,
He reflected bitterly, would atleast have a shadow!
To give credit where it’s due, one wonders how much is owed to Hugh,
Insightful and weird, it appeared his insights were limited to his weirdness.
After a close shave with madness, he decided to grow a beard,
This covered his chin but not the fact he was weird.
'THE COLD MAN'S COWARDLY SHADOW'
Collage/drawing by Julian Cloran.
 

 

 

 

1 comment:

  1. Another weird poem from the weirdest person I know who's never been sectioned... Vxx

    ReplyDelete