Skipping Stones

 I have been aware
Of my shadow self
For a very long time...
I might have to admit
That I have allowed it
To be at the forefront
Of my personality
For decades at a time...
I would have been
A great and fearsome pirate
Were I alive 
During the Golden Age of Piracy...
I move Silently
In the comforting embrace
Of inky shadows...
I can see in total darkness...
I have the eyes, claws, and teeth
Of the tiger, stalking its prey...
I have not always
Restrained
His hunger...
His need to be filled
At any cost...
And there is always a cost...
Prey animals
Can inflict damage
Before they are subdued
And consumed...
I feel I should remind you
That these words 
Are metaphorical...
I'm not a psycho killer...
And I am not
A serial rapist...
Not a burglar or a vulture capitalist...
However,
If you've ever known me
To be a "good man,"
You've likely been recognizing
The shadow in yourself,
And then done some rationalizing...
A few extra spoonfuls of sugar
To help the medicine
Go down...
I'm not prowling
The seaside ports after dark
With a shiv in hand
Looking for easy prey,
But I am at home
In the shadows...
I'm not hiding there,
But I blend in
Quite easily...
Dappled sunlight
Blends with my complexion...
A curious mixture
Of the dark and the light...
A tiger's stripes,
Or a leopard's spots.. 
My fangs are fearsome, 
And my claws are Razor sharp,
But I can be gentle...
Softly holding a cub
By the nape of their neck
To carry them to safety...
Like most of the rest of us,
I am a curious mixture
Of good and evil...
Spent most of my life
Trying to understand the dichotomy...
Trying to figure out
Just what it is
That I am...
The closest I have come
To answering this question is
That it just doesn't matter...
I just am...
This world just is...
It doesn't matter how it came to be,
It just is...
It is now...
Que sera, sera...
Many have their opinions of me
Ranging from love to hate,
Curiosity and apathy...
Some can see me,
Some see nothing at all
But for the shadow I cast...
They are all correct,
But most only see one facet
Of my totality...
I am a perfectly polished mirror...
I only show you
What you want to see
Even if you don't want to see it...
I'm only there
When you need me to be there,
Most especially 
When you don't know
Exactly what you need...
A wrecking ball
To shatter your illusions 
Of piety or grace...
To upend your feelings
Of self-loathing or depression...
This world of illusions
Is a messy place...
I am comfortable in the chaotic void
That gave birth to this place...
The gleaming black 
Surface of the void
Is the baseline,
And I am a flat stone 
Skipping along the surface...