They always told me to be afraid
of the monsters that lay under my bed.
Years and years I spent terrified,
too afraid to walk outside,
too afraid to live my life.
“Monsters! Monsters!” they told me,
Be afraid of the monsters!
They’ll watch as you teeter the edges of insanity,
they’ll laugh as you fall into the abyss of despair.
They’ll creep closer when you’ve stumbled to never get back up,
they’ll come to take you when you’ve finally lost all hope.
“Monster! Monsters!” they told me,
They’re everywhere!
I searched in the shadows,
I ripped through the closets,
I tore down the walls,
I looked under beds,
Yet never could I find the creatures that made my tears shed!
Where?
Where are the beasts of the night?
The ones that haunt me with their deviled flight!
And finally one day,
But only years and years later,
I finally understood.
After never knowing where my monsters lay,
I found I could see right through their big display.
Right in front of me screaming,
“Monsters! Monsters!” as they giggled and crowed
the terrible creatures had finally showed.
Ugly and foul,
smiling at me as they told me to be afraid.
There were never any monsters.
There was only just us.
It had always been just us.
And when I finally got up…
I smiled.
Then with them we walked to another young child.
All alone and afraid,
I sat down next to her whispering as soft as I could …
“Monsters! Monsters!” I said,
Everywhere there are monsters!
Laughing I saw the fear creep into her eyes.
I watched as the horror began,
and even as we crowed joyfully I yelled to her:
*…always be afraid of the monsters…
january 03//--