THE SHADOW THAT WALKS ALONE

By Evelyn Scott

The silence tugs at my breast

With formless lips,

Like a heavy baby,

Attenuates me,

Draws me through myself into it.

I sit in the womb of an idiot,

Helpless before its mouthing tenderness.

The huge flap ears are attentive,

And the soundless face bends toward me

In horrible lovingness.