Meeting The Stranger

Walk with me, my shadow said
No need to worry in your head
I felt you’d like to have a chat
Nothing profound, just this and that

I kept my stride and said hello
Not sure how this was going to go
I knew right then, I had no doubt
This was the stranger easing out

It’s been so long since we’ve been friends
Maybe it’s time to make amends
You’ve shut me out for many years
I’ve felt your sadness and your fears

Are you the stranger deep inside
Are you the one from whom I hide
So close and yet so far away
Now present on this sunlit day

You know the answer I will give
It is within I’m meant to live
But invitations must be kept
A chance for us to get in step

I’ve raised up walls on every side
I’ve given in to doubt and pride
I’m tired of wasting energy
Concealing vulnerability

I know your thoughts, your feelings deep
I know the secrets that you keep
Forget pretence and weep your tears
No torment here, no judging ears

I’ve let my ego and my mind
Convince me that I have to find 
Something ‘out there’ to make me whole
Yet here you are within my soul

Just be at ease from where you came
Inhabit all the fear and pain
Then let it go, it is no more
You stand before a different door

Am I prepared to risk it all
Remove the mask and let it fall
To be right here and make a pledge
To wander free, to find my edge

Yes, walk this dusty path and know
There is no place that you should go
For deep within I’ve always been
The dwelling place of which you dream

And as the sun rose in the sky
My shadow chose to say goodbye
Was it for real? Then right on cue
The stranger whispered, ‘I love you!’