When I was young

My fears nearly made me come undone

They haunted me

Taunted me

Threatened to consume me

In the daylight they scarcely came out

But the moment my eyes filled with sleep

They slithered out of the darkness

Hisses filling the air

Scales made of night glistened

The moon a cold friend

I held my breath so they wouldn't find me

Still I felt their fangs sink into my flesh

Over and over I cried out

My fear fed them

Devouring my screams

Writhing against my flesh to elicit more

Swallowed my pleas with satisfaction

Returning to the shadows

Keeping watch over me

No one believed the marks I bore

Said it was all a hoax

That I did not bear the mark of fangs

It must have some other explanation

I alone saw the eyes

That instilled terror in me