My Skin, My Sin

I've ran as far as I could
kneeling on the ground behind a tree
as I pant for the breath
that I would not regain
his gasping wheezing noises haunting me
terrorizing me so much more
than the crackling of his feet

as he stalks toward me
I try breathing slowly
lightly
wincing from the pain in my back
I reach back behind me
picking out the feathers protruding from my shoulders

he sniffs as each tear drops from my cheek
I see him now
climbing towards me
dirt and soil falling from the wooden roots that pump through him like veins

he steps, standing in front of me
the blackness bubbling up
all around his taloned feet
I look up upon him as he looks down
he, too, has feathers falling
as though he were bleeding them out
the roots through his legs tense as his left foot jolts to my neck
he lifts me up
until I am face to face with this creature

his talons grip me
just hard enough to bleed my neck
while still allowing me to barely breath
my left hand reaches to my throat
my right arm reaches through his chest
my eyes reach into his eyes
his bleeding feathers dissolve into my skin, my sin
I know him.

-

It can be terrifying, confronting your demons