A clinging fear of the
Creatures beneath our beds,
Lurking and waiting for a
Dangling foot, a quivering
Finger serving as bait.
We promise and swear we can
Hear them, snapping and growling from below.
But they vanish when light floods the
Room and a comforting voice
Chases them away.

They say it’s imagination,
But we all really know the truth
Of when we stopped looking
For the monsters-
We stopped looking when we realized they
Had moved somewhere closer,
We stopped searching once we stopped pretending they
Hid under our beds.
We stopped when we felt our hearts
Stir and our stomachs twist
As the monster gnawed at us from
Inside.