Reality

She waited at the beautiful
dining room table,
the falsely distressed wood,
full of fake wormholes,
each flaw polished
and deepened as though
by generations of family dinners.

— Louise Erdrich, "Shadow Tag"

Married

A soul could be captured
through a shadow. ...
Gil had placed his foot
on Irene's shadow
when he painted her.

And though she tried
to pull away, it was
impossible to tug
that skein of darkness
from under his heel.

— Louise Erdrich, "Shadow Tag"