after The Farewell by Remedios Varo
When we started walking along the winding road

of separation, did you ever wonder if our shadows

weren’t reluctant to follow?  
What if they’d reclaim a life of their own,

decide to concoct a different ending to our story,

loosen their chains one by one? 
What if they might have stretched and stretched,

retracing our footsteps towards the place where

words were last spoken or omitted? 
And what if then, without restraint, without shame,

pride aside, they would have wrapped themselves

around each other in folds swirling tighter than
the twists of a rope, become braided wicks awaiting

to be lit, linger back there with no witness

save perhaps, an alley cat, a stray dog or a lost sparrow?