Shadow Man
~ For Dad - some heroes don't wear a cape - I miss you dearly. ~
There stood upon a trodden sod
A knight-in-armor, steed and rod
Devoted, whole, to queen and god
Cold, rusting in the shadows
The darker, keening shadows
Oh statues built for men who find
Far weaker hearts of grit and mind
Than men like this, the rarest kind
Oft' swallowed by the shadows
Self-righteous, hasty shadows
Oh my mistakes were dearly bought
For trials and truces, plainly taught
Paid for excuses, veiled and wrought
And swallowed by the shadows
Those doubting, dusty shadows
Oh pedestals, bright, stand erect
The plaques and badges of respect
All kept to shine thru time's neglect
So swallowed by the shadows
The misty, trembling shadows
I held this man far o'er the rest
Tho' medals never graced his chest
And through intent, took second best
His work amidst the shadows
The humble, hidden shadows
From birth to here I ached inside
To earn the blossom of his pride
Yet now those wilted petals hide
To seed, deep in the shadows
The blistered, barren shadows
Oh life and love bear such a cost
I wander, now, thru threshes, lost
Paths and pities, burnt and tossed
All swallowed by the shadows
The horrid ... gasping shadows.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Your Best December Poem" Poetry Contest, John Hamilton, Judge & Sponsor.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Memorial Of A Loved One" Poetry Contest, Chantelle Anne Cooke, Judge & Sponsor.
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