Changeling

The changeling will not kill me.I know this
But yet it tries to maim
And seeks to engulf
And control me.
 
I run
I fly
I hide from it
Yet, it stays here
Waiting in the shadows
quietly trying to creep in
When it thinks I won't notice.

It is sneaky this changeling is.
It likes to camouflage itself.
It likes to fool me
It likes me to think it is something else
But I know its true nature
I can see through its disguises,
Eventually.
 
It is the root of all evils
This changeling is.
It is strong and it is relentless.
As much as I try to ignore it
No matter how much I try to crush it
Regardless of how I try to make it vanish
It becomes stronger
and louder its presence screams.
 
I talk to it
"I see you creature."
I say
"I know you changeling."
I confront
"this monster that you are,
you are created by me."
I challenge it
"you are part of me,
I know you by your real name."
This is how our battles go
But it always returns
Because it never really
Leaves, you see.
 
In order for it to leave
I must welcome it.
For it to be powerless
I must give it might.
For it to cease to exist
I must embrace it
And let it in.
To battle this enemy
One must know it intimately
And changeling is tricky
And holds back
So that I can only know it
so much at a time.
Just when I think I know it
It changes its form
and becomes something new
And our dance begins,
Once more.
 
But I keep challenging it
Because that is what must be done.
And even though with each battle
Changeling becomes stronger
And smarter
And more sophisticated in its strategy
The secret here is
That so do I.