Locked inside the library of light
A shadow –
Dancing on chapped hands
Flickering against candle shone walls
-beckons me to the window.

“Come near!” it cries,
“Come near!” it cries,
I stand and dust off-
a curiosity too estranged to handle.

It dashes from my window
And I too-
shattering shards of glass to the night-drowned field below.

My eyes blind in the night abyss
And before me runs the shadow.

I chase.

My breath grows harsh and my legs strain
jumping across fountains, I soak my feet.
Dancing with multi-foliate roses, I lap midnight dew
-red blood.

But as I draw near
It glides away, shifting, slithering, and wavering
along each blade of moon kissed grass.

My steps are hers, my leaps are hers,
And my chase – echoes of childish laughter.

I tire of chasing shadows.


Albert Hwang ’08 is a freshman in Canaday.