a robin knows one thing in true,
that he is not an eagle
that, though he tries, and try he might,
he'll never be a beagle.
and as he sits and flaps his wings
to soar above the people,
he see's his shadow follow behind
on all the roofs and steeples

a boy sits down & naval-gazes
staring at his wound.
he knows that, so the surgeon says,
the pain will be gone soon.
and as he falls into the clouds
of wonder, he can see
his body laying brightly and
a shadow underneath

a philosopher gazes at the stars
and on our own own his thoughts reside
images of human depravity
make scars that do not fade
a phrase from some idealist
haunts his rickety frame,
a man, one of The Followers,
who said "Maybe we can change"

as though a bolt of lightning struck,
and caused a flash of night,
a student looks up from the fire
to see the blackened sky
and as the dots of twinkling lights
begin to show, they almost say:
"The shadows prove the sunshine,
and Hope is here today".

-J. Q. 2008