17 Mehr 1405
Quatrain 46 of 75
“For in and out, above, about, below,
'Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show,
Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun,
Round which we Phantom Figures come and go.”
Reflection · Autumn 1405
The autumn shadow-show is the most beautiful version — the sun at its lower angle, the shadows longer and more golden, the phantom figures cast in amber light that makes them look almost more real than they were in summer. Magic Shadow-show — the magic is the suggestion of reality, the show's great trick. In autumn the trick is at its most affecting.
Come and go — in autumn the going is more visible. The cast thins. The figures that were here in spring and summer are going, have gone, will go. The box continues spinning. The candle continues burning. The show continues with a smaller cast, in longer shadows.