Shadows dance in my head

Authors

Cresantia F. Koya Vaka'uta, University of the South PacificFollow

Abstract

This emotionally charged poem captures the fragmentation of memory, longing, and betrayal through rich sensory imagery and stream-of-consciousness form. The speaker grapples with a haunting relationship marked by absence, desire, and spiritual dissonance. Religious symbols like rosaries and puja sit beside visceral images of movement, scent, and violence, evoking a clash between sacred ritual and raw human emotion. A mysterious woman—sensual, spectral, unattainable—symbolizes the speaker’s loss and powerlessness. The poem loops, returning to “shadows” and “silence,” suggesting the persistent echo of emotional trauma and unresolved yearning.

Recommended Citation

Koya Vaka'uta, Cresantia F. (2007) "Shadows dance in my head," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 30: No. 1, Article 25.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol30/iss1/25