My Shadow

I tear away my mask,
my skin, my flesh.
The shadow
Inside of me
Takes over, with his
glowing red eyes
and cheshire cat smile.
He laughs as his
dark aura paralyzes
passerby with fear.
"I am your nightmares
the bogeymen in your closet",
the shadow croons,
"I am why you fear the dark."
But then the light returns,
trapping the dark inside.
And my face returns
with my golden eyes
masking the fire within.
The nightmare ends,
I wake up screaming
and then realize its all ok,
it was just a nightmare.