Where there is light there is also a shadow beside

The darkness surrounds me,

sticky and thick,

drawing a line in the sand

human, or something else I’m missing

Is it mine?

I wonder, always sensing it near,

fear whispering,

is this my past creeping in?

Or is it my present,

anger left to linger,

feeding what should have been.

Light or darkness

I feel it watching,

waiting for the cracks to form.

In a single second, it takes hold,

covering my light,

returning me to emptiness I’ve known to well before

No hope.

No joy.

Only disdain for anything that dares to be happy.

It needs only one moment of weakness

to reemerge,

to reclaim my soul.

The shadow self burns with rage,

demanding control,

believing fury is the only way,

too afraid to grow.

I thought I had healed

but I was wrong.

The fire still swirls within.

Shadows don’t need perfect light

to reveal themselves.

They lie in wait.

To think you can tame them

is your greatest mistake.

Like all dark things,

they never die

just linger,

watching as you perform your life.

The shadow weaves its inner confusion doubt,controls your mind

telling you that you matter,

yet excluding you all the same.

It isn’t a shadow at all,

but ego in disguise

the mask we wear to protect our image,

the cracks that spill our tears

when the world doesn’t reflect us back

And the version of ourselves we held dear.