and it’s not out there
or after the body decomposes
in some fiery pit
and exposes all sins
or a man in a red suit with horns
and a pointed chin
it’s here in my house
it’s a black-pitch tar of venom
with red opaque eyes
it climbs inside my bathtub
it becomes the water
that stranglers me surreptitiously
with arms and teeth
it’s on the faces of my husband and son
it’s my cat that attacks me
in delirium
it’s stealth seeps through my bedroom window
when I’m asleep
I tell it no; I’ve got control
but I don’t
so, I get up in the middle of the night
and empty every bottle out
that there is in sight
then climb back into my head
but still can’t get any rest
because I know hell is in my home
it’s a mobile dark creature that
spreads itself out as blacktop with legs
and makes me beg it to stop
I know what I got to do
to take it out of this living room