The Pale Reporter

I’m retracing my steps
while you’re trying to pick
a fish off the floor
drifting through palm trees
to the sea
and beside you on the wall
like a kid’s drawing
your shadow is eating away
whatever it falls upon
and it moves as you move
burns when it crosses my foot
we all have one we carry
like a secret friend
who opens a door behind us
a conspirator grinning
with escape hatch always there
shaped just like you
and when the time comes
we jump head first
through the palm trees to the sea

DOUGLAS COLE

Douglas Cole has published six poetry collections and the novel The White Field, winner of the American Fiction Award. He has been nominated six times for a Pushcart Prize and seven times for Best of the Net. He lives and teaches in Seattle, Washington. His website is https://douglastcole.com.