It’s a horrid illusion
It’s all in my head
But I fear if I sleep
I’ll wake in my childhood bed
The cracked pink walls
My nightlight still on
If I close my eyes once more
I’ll be back where I started at dawn
The mattress still creaks
With each heavy breath
My father still curses
At my mother who wept
My hair may grow out
The pictures on the walls
Stare back at me
The ghosts of my past
Who had yet to be free
My hair may grow out
And change its hue
But when I look in the mirror
I see the kid I thought I outgrew
I wonder if I’ll ever escape
Or if like my nightlight
I’ll crawl back to this place
These walls remind me of where I’ve come from
My closet full of dreams unsaid
The dreams I once dreamt of
In my childhood bed