I turn my back, you disappear.
Yet everywhere I go, I know
you're nearby.
Lurking, smirking,
rejoicing in my failures,
laughing at each stumble
along life's potholed road.

Though others never hear
your snide remarks,
for me there is no respite.
Cynical jabs and jeers
inflame my fears.
I shrivel under your ridicule.

Each witty observation I make,
you turn upon itself.
Every edifice I create in my mind
you tear down;
'til barely the foundations remain.

Though no one else can hear
the taunts you fire
like flaming arrows
into my consciousness,
it matters not to you.
You track me like prey,
and when my strength is gone,
you attack, and then
shocklingly, mockingly
watch me bleed.

But for all your cruel intentions,
your arrogance,
your bravado,
you are less substantial
than fog;

for you are nothing
but the shadow of the man
I once was.