The day they appeared

It wasn’t all at once.

Some appeared in tandem

but most, most were static

All were the same icy blue

And through them came the shadows

Harmless shadows

latching on

To our own shadows

Some gained many shadows

Some gained only one.

A hierarchy formed,

the more you had the better

And more portals  each day

Brought more shadows

The bottom tier could pick on me,

because the day the portals appeared

My shadow vanished.

And fed up, I ventured, wondering

“What happens if I go through a portal?”