enemy within
Bruised and battered.
Torn and worn thin.
My shadow boxer keeps landing punches.
Blow after blow
They find their mark
Unerringly,
And I weaken.
She knows always where to strike,
And where the soft spots are;
Where I am most vulnerable,
Where to attack.
You can’t ignore an enemy behind your lines.
And with every crushing impact
My eyes are beaten closed,
My head spins,
And I move closer to that place where time slows,
And the outside world fades.
The place where I stand
Alone in the dark,
Hunted,
Naked and unarmed,
Waiting to lose a fight against the most relentless tormentor
Who mocks me with my own face.
© mjc 18 March 2013
