The word of the day is 'shadow', a word that is beautifully mysterious and melodic. It has two main meanings: 'a dark area cast by an obstacle to the light', and 'to follow someone closely and secretly'. There are so many possibilities in those two definitions. So many images and metaphors come to mind, which is probably why it's been a favourite word in fiction for decades. A quick search found novels entitled 'Veil of Shadows', 'Garden of Shadows', 'Reign of Shadows', 'The Girl with No Shadow', 'The Shadow Hero', and dozens more.
'Shadow' also has a fascinating history. Queen Elizabeth I used to refer to difficulties as 'this time of shadows', and she once wrote a poem describing her grief as 'a shadow in the sun', which 'follows me flying, flies when I pursue it, stands and lies by me', and does 'what I have done'. She wants to get rid of the shadow but doesn't expect it to go 'til by the end of things it be suppressed'.
The Latin for 'shadow' is 'umbra', and a lot of our English words derive from that. 'Umbrage', which now means an offense or annoyance, once meant 'the shadow of suspicion'. 'Antumbra' refers to being completely hidden in a shadow. And, my personal favourite, 'penumbra' means 'almost in shadow'.
I have often felt like I am 'penumbra'. Sometimes I decide to step forward into the light...and sometimes I hide in the dark. Life in the shadows can be calm and kind sometimes, but the light does tend to be insistent. Whenever it dispels the shadows, I know it's time to get up and try again.
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