Rivulets of icy water run over my body
Memories, sounds and words swirl in my mind
None finds purchase, in this cleaning flood

My thoughts are heavy in this solitude
Today as always, my mind strayed
To a dream, a bizarre manifestation of my fears
In this dream, I met my inner demon

A familiar tableau, sat in an endless space
A square table, with no seat of power or place
Two chairs, worn by our backs and butts
But equal, balanced, in all its edges and cuts
It evokes a sense of equality, of balance
A set of scales sits on the table
The scales hold two stones, one blue, one white
Also balanced to the naked sight.

I sit in the chair, to the left, where I belong
In my usual clothes, plain and worn
He approaches, my demon, my mirror, my friend of old
His clothes, his face, his carriage, everything I am not

He sits opposite me, symbolic, different, as he always has
We share a drink in silence, no words need be said
He knows my thoughts, and I, his,
A casual observer would think us friends, and he'd be right
My demon is me, who I am,
Who I was
and who I'm meant to be

I look into his eyes
He stares back, unblinking, patient, as always
He looks the same, much as I do
A dark face, with slight in-set eyes
A pug nose sits over thick lips
A quirky slant to his eyebrows and a confident tilt to his chin.
A gleam of mischief lurks in his eyes

My demon, my mirror, a reflection of my dark side
A creature of different persuasion and intent
But at the core, he has and will always be me.
Every second of my life, he has been there.
The avatar of my fears, doubts and insecurities
His voice, a constant refrain in my mind, haunting
In the ignorance of youth, I called him a demon
A monster guilty of the quiver in my voice,
The chill of icy fear in my blood,
the clouds of depression over my head
He was the cause of my failures

But as I look into his eyes, I see the end is near
The shadows under his eyes, the tremble in his hand, I fear
But I'll ignore it, for now, and raise my glass in a toast
To my demon, my mirror, my reflection, my friend
He is but what I made him to be

I am his beginning and his end
I made my demon
I will be the end of him

He spoke, my demon, in a voice just like my own

"One day I will be no more" 
"One day, I will die", He said
A sad smile split my lips
"I know you will fight as long as you can"
"I know you will try and stop me"
"But now I know, that you can't"
A wry grin split his face.

My demon has made me stronger
I knew it
And he knew it
How could I hate him for that
We sat in silence and drunk
To our past and our future
My demon and I