Shadows

By Ryan Mimna

Dancing under the darkness of night,
echoing songs of sunlight from streetlights.

Mind speeding faster than light,
uncertainty beholden to darkness of night.

Memories guide my soul,
making my way back home.

Blinded by light, guided by night.
Secrets our hearts hide.
False truths they provide.

Guided by light, heart, is it true?
What if this light is a lie?

Singing sweet songs,
duplicity is its rhyme.

Hollowness is its soul.
Light, shine bright.

What is the truth,
in the darkness and light?

Shadows, when my eyes speak twilight.

Chaos of the world,
enraptured in dark and light.

Dancing in the darkness of night,
echoing songs of sunlight dancing in the streetlights.

Truth, what do you say when you only speak in the twilight’s night?

Give my soul respite.
I’m lost dancing in the night,
beholden only to the streetlights.

_____________________________

Ryan Mimna lives in Philadelphia and works in the finance industry. He served in the U.S. Army from 2011 to 2015 and, after completing the Ranger pipeline, served with 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, including multiple tours in Afghanistan. After leaving the Army, he finished a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he began writing and later turned toward poetry. For The Havok Journal, he writes reflective pieces and poetry, often centered on fear, meaning, and the inner life.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.