A celebration of poetry written by members and friends of the MuseItUp Club. Submissions are invited for this page.*

Repainting the Shadows

by Les Stephenson

Feeling the emptiness in my soul
Of vacant memories unshared;
Flat and colourless like a shadow,
I walked as a featureless face.

Looking backward to a forlorn past,
Youth's despair brought no lasting bliss.
You didn't shine on that distant stage
As I played midnight solitaire.

Lost in the crowds of a busy street
Or in my apartment alone;
At each pause in my aimless rush,
I'd ask and wonder: 'Where are you?'

Now complete, I walk the paths again,
Grasping a new theme for my life.
With you, in love, strolling hand in hand,
Joy brings light, engulfing my heart.

Togetherness ends my shadowed role;
Silhouettes merge in vibrant hues.
You and I repaint in colour
The forgotten road called loneliness.

Dedicated to my wife, Susan, on Valentine’s Day, 2009.

Les Stephenson had the honour of an invitation to join The Muse Marquee at its onset. From the humble beginnings of his column "Up From Down Under" he has graduated to compiling and editing both the Flashers and the Poets Page. Occasionally, he sneaks a piece from his own keyboard into one of the latter two.

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*Send poetry submissions to underamuse@yahoo.com.au .

Please include the words “Muse Marquee Poetry Submission” in the subject line. Special themes for 2009 are nature, romance and human failings.

The Poets Page is edited by Les Stephenson.

February 2009.