We all have our own monsters
whose daytime face is calm.
Who’s so serene,
as if a dream,
reality’s glare; stark.

We learn to live beside them.
Raise no undue alarm.
Work as a team,
within the scheme
of boundaries left unmarked.

In the compromise, our loss
unnoticed in the park.
But know the thing
that waits for you
Sits grinning in the dark.

Its yellow eyes gleam madness.
Its teeth are long and sharp.
It is a slice –
your own device –
come calling you to hark.

And when the long day’s over
You stumble through your door
It wants you as
***** donor
to silence its deep roar.

So keep on compromising.
Pat it upon its head.
Be safe by day –
beware at night
Until it goes away

Don’t hold your breath, awaiting
release of terror’s spark.
Just know the thing
that waits for you
Sits grinning in the dark.

Lin Cava©