I open up to my mother
she listens begrudgingly
but physically
cold shoulder

I point out her body language
she says I’m on the attack
I just want peace
but a cold war is still a war

He coughs all day to numb the pain
releasing it in clouds around him
every sound has a weight on my heart
and it never ends

I want to escape
but I’m frozen in place
and I’m not interested in playing pretend
Maybe ignorance is bliss and this
is suffering needlessly

I can’t escape
paralysis
except when I’m asleep

demons used to chase me
in the worlds inside my dreams
one day, i touched the bottom
surfaced from beneath the waters
woke but couldn’t move

at the end of my bed
a demon waited
so i sent waves of energy in its direction
and freed myself

even the most fearsome monsters
respond to these vibrations
is that how they see me?
certainly I’m no exception