As a young child, I lived in fear Fear of the unknown, the chaotic My mind perceived shadows As monsters of my subconscious The creaks of the house settling Rustling in the bushes Rose thorns scratching Against the window Like little gremlins whispering "Let me in, let me in!" Even the pitter patter of rain Was like the cries of the Abandoned children clawing The house, tearing it apart, Almost as if their small, Calloced fingers ripped Apart my mind, drowning me In guilt, the dirt of my short but Horrid past under their fingernails The same nails that tear through My skin as their fingers wrap around My throat, leaving me gasping for a breath Allowing me just enough air to wallow over My own demons and dread the future But then something clicked in my mind I no longer feared the gremlins Or abandoned children I acceptthem with open arms, Listening to their tales of terror, And discover I, too,was just like them