Today feels unreal. After months of writing, shaping, and refining. Of last minute revisions, of sleepless nights and hours of doubt, the book is finally in readers’ hands. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this feeling, knowing that something I created is now out in the world, existing beyond me.
And I want to take a moment to celebrate that. With you.
When putting together Fragmented Echoes, I had to make decisions, not just about what belonged, but what didn’t. Some poems stayed. Some were reshaped. And some, like this one, were set aside, lingering in the shadows.
Chasing Shadows was one of those poems. It danced on the edges of the collection, whispering of longing and illusion, of chasing something just out of reach. It felt right, but at the same time, it felt like it belonged elsewhere, perhaps here, in this space, where I can share it with those who truly walk this path with me.
So, here it is. A poem that almost was.
Chasing Shadows
In twilight's soft and fading light,
A figure dances, just in sight.
With every step and every leap,
She chases a shadow, just to keep.
A fragment, a wisp, barely there,
A dream that dances upon the air.
It calls her close, it draws her near,
A phantom love, so delicate, so clear.
She reached, she grasped, but all in vain,
For shadows slip away like summer rain.
Yet still she runs, through night's nebulous space,
In hopes to meet that shrouded face.
A phantasm of what could be,
A figment of reality.
A hope that flickers, fades, and flies,
A truth that lives within the lies.
But oh, the chase is sweet and long,
Its fleeting call, my siren's song.
For what is life but dreams we chase,
In shadows' fleeting, ethereal embrace?
So let me run, and let me dream,
For nothing's ever as it seems.
In chasing shadows, this heart takes flight,
Finding quiet peace in endless night.
Why did I set this one aside? Maybe because my collection already held so many pieces of longing, and this one felt like an echo of what had already been said. Or maybe it was simply a matter of space, of finding balance within the whole. Maybe it just didn’t fit quite right in the arc of the collection… But that’s the beauty of words, isn’t it? Even when they don’t make it into the final pages, they still exist. They still resonate.
And now, they’re here with you. Thank you for being part of this moment. I’d love to hear your thoughts as you start reading Fragmented Echoes!
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