I Have a Shadow

There is a shadow on my shoulder, She rubs against my cheek, her smoke is tangled in my hair. She is my company, this shadow, she never leaves. She is my protector and my cage. When I speak her limbs spill out of my mouth, My lips stained ashen. Her tendrils wrap around my wrist and creep up my legs. Her laugh is soft and smoky, When I try to laugh I choke on her. When I try to run she sends out gray vines to pull me back to her. To those who see me, I am hidden, Swathed in shadow. People avert their eyes, Or they look through me. She bares her teeth at those who come too close. So everyone stays away, fearful of contagion. My eyes have darkened black and wide. My bones are brittle and empty. She flows through me instead of blood. There is a shadow on my shoulder, she calls to me More. more. She is beautiful dark fire, my shadow is. She is a part of me, one in the same.