A shadow of a shadow of a shadow casts
His long dark hat
across my feet
And floods the floor.

But with a wink I shoot
A ray of light along the ground
That creeps toward his shape and slams the door.

The darkness shrieks
And grows a little weaker;
and as it starts to part I feel
My nose does bleed
My hands do shake until -
Eager to run -
I lift a  shaking leg

Now suddenly the shadow moves;
It moves toward the curtain
Spreads  out ten thin long lines to reach the spot
But fails
And stumbles back

The two of us
Keep fighting for a while
I carry his grey marks under my skin

My shins are stripy black
He lost an eye.

Eventually the sun
Shows its bald head
And my friend starts to fade;

Smaller and smaller he becomes
And quiet
Then, with a simple single beat
He leaves;

No shady warrior
No riot

And he leaves me behind.