Monster

It preys on your dreams,
crouching on artful haunches
until the world you inhabit is completely your own

A gentle murmur, a sidewards glance
and then a cloud of puffy, vicious smoke

You do not resist, at first
for the smoke smells sweet with hints of vengeance and traces of greed
You follow, unquestioning
You let it lead you down paths you never knew you could create
You pause a while, shake your head and try to reconsider

It turns around to face you
snarling its callused lips in a mirthless sneer
it mocks you, lures you, taunts you
to take just one last look.

It seeps into your eyes
tainting your soul with unfamiliar hues
You peer outwards, and then back within
and then pull back, shocked at what you think you see
But this time, you are drawn
Drawn to all that you thought could never be
You look anew at the nameless, shapeless silhouette
lurking at the very edges of your horizon
seeking words of reassurance
words of comfort, of solace, of concession

Like a trickle
That grows steadily stronger into a stream, and then a river
it floods your being with answers
Answers you've been grasping at all along
but were too afraid to own up to

The whisper turns into a roar
drowning out everything around you
with its wordless echoes
Muting who you used to be
with this stranger you have now become

You no longer know the person who looks back at you
from the mirror
Your words sound strange, brittle almost
to your own ears
Your touch feels different
At once faltering but harder

And you scream,
"What have you done to me?"

It doesn't answer
looks away instead

Louder this time, you demand,
"Stop this, this very instant!
I want to go back
I want to be me"

With its face grimaced in a terrifying smile
It whispers,
"I am you."