The Chase of Shadows

Upon the rolling plateau of thought my eyes hunt

where shapes move and vanish from my reach

and every step shakes with hope and fear

The wind carries a scent I almost touch

then slips away before it touches me

Fleeting as the bright glimmer along the river's spine

desire leaps and turns upon itself

as if laughing at the mind that dares follow

I speak to it with the silence of longing

and the reply comes twisted and strange

like brambles curling beneath my body

Here the heart grows heavy with watchfulness

each beat a pulse of fear and courage

and every shadow holds a kingdom I cannot visit

Sometimes the prize falls into my hands

shaking and warm and more real than I imagined

Other times it drifts away

a promise curling into the night

leaving a hollow bright with aching

an ache that teaches me patience and determination

Oh, the chase changes the hunter

into someone fierce and tender

both lost and pursuing

for the thing we chase shapes the soul

as sharply as the sword or pen

I have reached for mirages sparkling with hope

and I have stumbled into rooms of truth

where absence sparkle like diamonds in the dark

The world is indifferent. Only the wind

moving through the galleries of longing and regret

Yet each breath drawn in the stretch of pursuit

fills the limbs with strength

sharpens the eyes to the subtle dance of possibility

and the heart learns in beating

that the value lies not only in holding the prize

but in reaching, stretching, daring

for the world rewards the boldness of the hunter

Here in endless pursuit

the soul finds the wide reach of what could be

and every escape of the sought

shines with its own gentle treasure