Sarah McCullough
Shadow
Maybe it’s waiting for me,
on the second star to the right.
I’ll fly there to find it,
faith, trust, pixie dust,
through the night sky, I’ll fly.
To Neverland.
Time is in the stomach of the crocodile,
tick, tick, tick, tick;
slowly creeping up from behind.
I can’t let it catch me, eat me alive.
I have to keep trying, flying.
To Neverland.
We played a game of Hook and Smee,
you gave commands and I aimed to please.
You commandeered my heart like a pirate,
but I fought like an Indian to steal it back.
No longer your captive.
In Neverland.
I found the Lost Boys,
playing in the trees.
They were so much fun,
so happy and free.
They took me on a tour.
Of Neverland.
It was in Mermaid Lagoon where I first saw him.
he was the center of attention,
the mermaids loved him.
They hated me when they saw the gleam in my eye.
They splashed, taunted.
He was just a shadow.
I followed it to Skull Rock,
where the waters were rough
and the tide rose fast.
I lost it in the effort to swim free,
lost it to save myself.
Lost his shadow.
I wandered and wondered,
where could he have gone,
this mysterious shadow boy?
I needed to find him,
needed to meet him.
Not just his shadow.
I came across Hangman’s Tree.
The Lost Boys let me inside.
Down the roots we went until,
we landed in the room
where, at last, I saw the boy,
attached to the shadow.