Shadowman

Shadows dancing on the wall,
waiting, waiting for me to fall.
Taunting and twirling,
my mind left swirling.
Mr. Shadowman pulls his strings,
and his puppets sing strange things.
Their shrieks echo in my mind,
and around broken souls my thoughts wind.
Creatures weep and bawl,
their cries making me crawl.
Bones rattle, clatter, and shake,
making my nerves quiver and quake.
Mr. Magicman waves his fingers,
causing snythes to shoot their stingers,
wraiths to writhe their waking mares,
and imps to scuffle, brandishing their dares.
Flights of never-ending stairs bar my way,
and to that, this is what I have to say:
“Set me free from this damned hell!
All it does is make black tides swell,
and Mr. Voodooman!, release my bonds
and destroy those dried palm fronds!
All they do, in their humanoid forms,
is cause pain and strife...oh the horrid storms!
Why do you keep me from rising above,
and drive away all those I love?!...”
My words are cut off,
making the demons scoff
as Mr. Puppetman’s icy bones close in a choke,
his wicked smile and evil eyes awaiting my croak.
My vision starts to blur and spot,
my hopes beginning to stick and clot,
making the cackles fade out
and my thoughts take a different route.
I think of family and friends,
and how they’ll react if my life ends;
I think of my life and future,
and how they’re tied with a suture;
I think of me, myself, and I,
and how life has flown right by.
I wonder why the Mysteryman waits,
but before another thought, there open gates
in front of my eyes, and I ponder:
“Why have I always seemed to wander,
settling neither there nor here...?”
A star falls: a single, adamantine tear.
That simple action releases the flood,
and I cry for all the spilled blood,
missing those who have gone,
feeling as helpless and fragile as a fawn.
These gates hold a choice,
but I struggle to find my voice.
Silently, I wonder about the evils,
how they’ve infiltrated like weevils;
and about the graces,
how they’ve introduced new faces.
I realize that they rely on me as much
as I do on them, and to love we clutch,
keeping ourselves afloat
when life wants to sink our boat.
To an ocean of tears, one more is added,
and my heart and mind click, padded
with thoughts of desire…
the hope of quenching this pyre
that’s all-consuming, eating
away at my core, and for a fleeting
moment, I consider succumbing;
but I reflect, and I see what I’m becoming.
For myself I never wanted that fate,
and seeing myself in this sorry state,
the fire within burns brightly,
cleansing and searing, kissing me lightly.
My vision becomes clearer,
and I see his horrible face grow nearer.
But gone is the malice,
his features no longer callous.
He takes his hands away
and his creatures fade to grey.
His being starts to glimmer,
his garb starting to shimmer,
and I regain my breath, my wits,
the force that tore me calls it quits.
We regard each other not as two
different entities, but in light anew.
We are one and the same,
burning with an equivalent flame.
Another moment, and all my thoughts click,
his hold over me crumbling like an old brick.
He stands aside and gestures with an arm,
my path toward the light free of harm.
I walk, passing him, bowing my head…
he bows back, and our shadows are dead.