Man in the Mirror – A Poem

Three year ago,

I met the

person that lived

inside of me.

For months, he

had been plaguing

me with falls

down stairs, with

the loss of

eyesight and speech

and a host

of other problems.

It was when

I lost the

ability to speak

that I was

made to go

to the doctors.

All throughout the

testing, he had

remained quiet. For

months, he had

remained quiet, but

I could sense

him growing stronger

within me. An

unnameable beast that

resided within my

skin. I sat

in a room

with the doctor

and he had

looked at me,

not with pity

but with apology.

I knew what

was coming would

not be easy.

The invisible beast

grew restless inside

of me. The

doctor sighed and

then he spoke:

“There’s no easy way to say this. I’m afraid it’s M. S.”

My mother hung

her head as

if she had

been shot, but

I sat there,

numb and afraid

to move. The doctor

went on to

talk about treatments,

all the while,

the twin inside

of me was

laughing. For a

moment, I thought

my life was

over, that life

as I knew

it had stopped.

We stood and

thanked the doctor

for his help

and I went

to the washroom

to through some

cold water on

my face. I

looked at myself

in the mirror.

I didn’t look

different, but I

felt different. It

was as if

something had changed

within me. I

could hear him

laughing inside of

me. I gave

him a stern

look, knowing that

I was looking

right inside myself.

“I know your name now, Max Shadow. I know what you are.”

I heard more

laughter and a

voice said quietly:

“So? What are you going to do about it?”

I let steel

run through my

spine and looked

even harder at

myself, knowing that

he could hear

my every word.

“I’m going to fight you and I’m going to win.”

He laughed again.

“You sure about that?”

I gave my

reflection a little

smile and felt

him shudder slightly.

“Yes. I am.”

“You don’t have the guts to take me on.”

My smile widened.

“Watch me.”

I turned out

the lights and

left him in

the darkness.