My Shadow

Books have always played a very important role in my life.  In fact, some of my earliest happy memories revolve around books, and one in particular that I have incredibly fond memories of is A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.  I can remember as a child sitting curled up reading my paperback copy (which is now very dog-eared) from cover to cover with the imagination of a child, totally losing myself in the story of each poem.

Tonight, while going through my South Carolina photos and trying to decide what to write about, I found a photo that immediately brought to mind one of my favourite poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses called My Shadow.  I’m quite sure that many of you will remember this poem from your own childhood, but if not this is how it goes:

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow–
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

And here’s the photo that prompted this post:

I’ve posted beach shadow photos before, but I really like the composition of this shot because of the ocean in the background.

So, have you ever had a photo awaken such a strong memory for you?