Katy McCuish lives in Nanimo by the Ocean.

"The Disappearance of Shadows" was published in the chapbook Island Women Poets 2003.

The Disappearance of Shadows

“the space between the bars holds the tiger” (old proverb)

Sometimes after a day of rain
and filtered shadows
darkness swallows
the last pale shimmers of light
birds lose themselves
in blankets of leaves.

A milky moon floats down
layers of darkness to erase tiniest claw prints
and beak piercings.

I walk quickly
through the spaces left
by the disappearance of shadows
when I kneel beside the lily pond
I am relieved to see
a faint image of myself.