Shadow of a Mother

She's constantly behind me,

Whispering insults,

Hoping I fail

In this frantic race to damnation.

She perches her sharp claws

On my small shoulders,

Like dark omens from ravens,

Weakening me,

As if I were her enemy.

Undermining morale,

Dismissing facts,

Infiltrating my dreams,

Denying me sleep,

Birthing nightmares -

Coiled serpents

Distorting conversations,

Ignored for years.

As darkness deepens my gloomy days,

She reigns from a pearly throne in her ivory castle,

Tallying her white fortunes,

Inflicting her wicked retribution upon my frail form.

It had always been this way

Until I matured

And witnessed the reversal,

Not what anyone had anticipated,

Not a betrayal from me,

But from her.