Shadow

Silhouette

On the face of the moon

Am I.

A dark shadow in the light.

A silhouette am I
On the face of the moon
Lacking color
Or vivid brightness
But defined all the clearer
Because
I am dark,
Black on the face of the moon.
A shadow am I
Growing in the light,
Not understood
As is the day,
But more easily seen
Because
I am a shadow in the light.

Copyright © 2022 by Bruce Nugent. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 26, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.

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“Shadow” appeared in Opportunity III, no. 34 (October, 1925).