"Shadow," a poem by Jess Coffman

Long ago love...
how you still wound.
I have forgiven you,
but the pain of my
wasted youth remains.
Which,
does not allow me
to take a chance on anything,
that reveals even a sliver, of a shadow
of you.

I was unseen in those days.
silent and of little worth,
except for my wild outbursts
and bare skin.

His syllables,
legato loose tongue.
His ability to soil a sacred cloth
'round my waist.
Somehow the bitterness of you
has vanished,
You no longer leave
distaste.
But a warning lingers,
like a familiar scent, 
I can't place.
Dissimilarities trick me.
vanishing faith.

Again, my words hold no weight,
They could come and go of my lips.
I would be nothing of value,
If I were just a head, with no hips.

All is a well, All is a well.

It seems I've learned again.
My role as an open woman,
In the game of selfish men.

I'll play alone from now on,
It's always better when I do.
My arms open to the masses,
Without just one man to belong to.

If I gave myself to the whole world...
My Treasure, an equally traded gift.
My Soul a sacred space,
Never neglected or split.
My Feelings, always discreet,
would never be disregarded.
My Love a golden arrow,
Buried safe, could never be discarded.

Maybe then, I'd be truly contented,
Loving all, and never one.
I'd pray to the moon, amid smokey star shine.
Or bathe in the breath of a naked sun.

JESS COFFMAN