The Black Lake.

The murky depths await me.
I've stared too long at my distorted reflection,
On the ground I stand,
The other self looks back at me,
Looks me in the eye.
That terrible gaze.

Those eyes...
They know,
They shimmer with sinister knowledge,
Or perhaps all knowledge, if complete, is sinister?
They know everything there is to know about me.
They are my eyes,
Yet not mine,
The reflection always knows more,
You only choose not to see.
The godlike stare,
The temple of the black lake.
My reflection, made a god.

Tossed a pebble too many,
Observed them skim the surface of the terrible lake,
Seen them fly,
In the end they all sink, without fail.
Now, I am afraid,
So must I.
The lake beckons,
It ripples with impatience,
It must have its fodder.
It must be fed.

I breathe,
A deep breath.
The lake breaths with me.
It sighs, even as I do.
How afraid am I to dive within my own mind?
To face the whirlpool of my own thoughts?
How afraid are you?

Night follows night.
A darker night descends.
The moon has never shone more brightly.
The wind has never been this cold,
Never has its anguish been so apparent.
The reflection grows,
The other self becomes more real.
Time for me to step into the shoes of the distorted reflection.
Time for me to touch the bottom of the black lake.

The Fraud. The Magician.

Look.
Watch me spin images.
So wondrous.
Beautiful.
Surreal.
A sweep of hand,
There. Your life is complete.
A sudden movement,
The falling hat,
Slight of hand,
Your life in shambles.
I give to you; distorted reality.
So easy on the eyes.
You would want to believe every lie I speak.
Yes, it's true.

Watch.
Look at me, as I dig your grave,
As I make you believe it to be a castle.
Lie down on this exquisite feather bed,
No, don't worry.
Ignore the smell of the death.
Ignore the tombstone.
What have I turned you into?
A cracked sculpture.
A shadow of perfection you used to be?

Yes, these tears.
These tears of blood are good for you.
They cleanse you.
Ignore them for now.
Observe my hand,
Look into my eyes,
I'll give you another pleasing lie.
The best one of the lot.

A knife soiled by gore.
This will be your salvation.
Trust me.
I am the magician.
Ignore the hurt,
Listen to my lies.
Stay in the world I build for you.
The knife will take you there.
Hold it.
The shrieking wind celebrates your triumph.
These ruins, are nothing but a stronger foundation for your future empire.
The mourning night bids farewell to your worries.
The weeping skies, ask for your sacrifice.

You have to go.
You are a creation of pain.
Built by a fraud.
A sculpture of lies.
A tap of the wand,
You disappear.

Realization

Drunken delirium,
Fog of alcoholic fumes,
A clearing, I see.
And in it, the stark truth.

Can it be so?
The truth so cruel.
A hammer on my head,
An electric shock running up my spine.
But the truth it is,
And it is here to stay.
Accept it.
Bow down,
For it is god the of rationality,
The grip for your sanity.

Will I run from it?
Will I cower?
Can I watch myself bleed?
Can you?
Ahahahaha, how does it feel to see the bubble burst?
To see a cliched phrase come to life?

Suckered in by words,
Random sounds?
How fickle is reality?
How tempting a pleasing lie.
Sigh.
Now, I know.
Now, I do.
Well, fuck it.
Let the truth sleep,
Let it be,
Let it lie,
Till the time it needs to feed.
Now is the time for lies,
For now is the time to live.

Fear, Worry and That Undescribable Feeling.

Creeping darkness,
A slow poison,
The stalker,
The carnivore primed for the death-leap.
The prey;
You.

Caught unaware,
Surrounded,
The queasiness in the pit of the stomach,
The threat of unimaginable pain,
The preparation,
The wait.
The face-off.

Enter the ring,
In the right hand corner,
Dressed in black,
Menacing and featureless... stands Fear.
Already cowering with impending defeat,
In the left hand corner,
Completely naked,
Stands... the prey.

The fight,
The unseen wounds,
Overwhelmed,
Smothered,
Suffocating,
The loss.
What have I lost?
What?

The prey will strike back.
Soon.
Yes, it will.
For now, it recovers,
Hiding in its underground cave.