Eingengrau

My shadow haunts me.

Eigengrau.

Cold, morose, and damp.

Never warming me.

Always lurking.

Incessantly whispering.

Reminding me of my vain existence

with every step and turn.

In the dark.

In quiet solitude

is when its voice is loudest.

The most unforgiving.

The starkest; the most defined.

I relinquish myself to the sound of

it breathing over me.

Inhaling. Exhaling.

Until my soul swelters from

condensation.

It cradles me as I close my eyes,

Ultimately acquiescing to its love for me.

And when it’s sweet susurrations

brush upon the lobes of my ears,

my eyes begin to wane from its affection,

and I drift into a slumber with a smile.

Because in my dreams is where I can see

Eigengrau in its flesh.

And I surrender.