Like Peter Pan he had been born
with a detachable shadow
but unlike Peter
he could do it at will – a party trick of sorts,
he’d peel it off with a sticky wet sound
and plaster it onto a door or grimy bathroom wall
limbs arranged in a humorous pose.
She asked him once why he did it, why
he took pleasure in belittling something that was
almost a part of himself – If I really thought
it was part of me, madam, I’d leave it stuck
on one of those toilet walls
and good riddance,
was his reply.
The shadow said nothing.
It really didn’t mind the treatment anyway,
had nothing against bathrooms
so long as it got the chance
to stretch its legs from time to time
and see
a bit of the world.
(Originally appeared
in the November 2011 issue of Subliminal
Interiors)
