Last night
I saw a monster
At the foot of my bed.
A familiar beast
That's haunted me
Since I was a kid.

He stares at me
With a white toothy grin
And a crooked head.

He says " you think you're so great, don't you?
With your fancy job and education.
Well, I know you better than that.
You're still a street rat.
The queen of trash.
Have you forgotten the scars on the back of your neck?
They will always be your epithet."


No matter how far I run
Or how well I pretend
He fills me with dread

Just like when I was ten
And laid still as death
While the carpet swallowed pints of my blood.