Jim Tilley

October 2025 | poetry

Shadow of a Doubt

Light falling against a solid, upright object

casts a shadow, the sun setting behind mountains

putting the valley fully in shade, no doubt.

In the morning, standing against the railing

on the balcony of your forest home, the valley

again fully in shade, but drawing slowly toward

you as the sun rises higher and higher. Some days,

though, you’re uncertain about rising and pull

the blankets tighter over you despite the songbirds

beckoning, the breeze stirring the pines, the scent

of fresh brew from the kitchen, too many worries

casting a shadow over you even before the day

has begun. But can’t that happen only if you let

the doubts have substance? And when you shine

a light on them, as inevitably you will, won’t they

simply disappear, cloud-filled sky or not?

Jim Tilley

Jim Tilley has published four full-length collections of poetry and a novel with Red Hen Press. His short memoir, The Elegant Solution, was published as a Ploughshares Solo. Five of his poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His most recent poetry collection, Ripples in the Fabric of the Universe: New & Selected Poems, was published in June 2024. His forthcoming collection, When Godot Arrived, will be published in the fall of 2026.