To My Shadow

Shadow, just like the thin regard of men,
Constant and close to friends, while fortune's bright,
You leave me in the dark, but come again
And stick to me as long as there is light!
Yet, Shadow, as good friends have often done,
You 've never stepped between me and the sun;
But ready still to back me I have found you —
Although, indeed, you 're fond of changing sides;
And, while I never yet could get around you,
Where'er I walk, my Shadow with me glides!
That you should leave me in the dark, is meet
Enough, there being one thing to remark —
Light calls ye forth, yet, lying at my feet,
I 'm keeping you forever in the dark!