There sits a box
beneath my bed
where I gently place
each one of you.
You are all
beautiful
in your distortion.

I pop each of you
out,
every once in a while;
like ice cubes
from a tray.
You slither and melt
into me,
your frozen waters;
an ocean of time.

I'm taken back
to when
you all meant something.
All my deceit and pain
tied tightly
with a
velvet ribbon;
offered
as a gift.

I disguise you
with costumes
so grand
you appear to be
a commodity,
property of
trickery so dark.

I keep you
hidden
in that box
beneath my bed
where you can't escape
without my key.
You only come out
when my demons
won't sleep;
their elusive charm
so seductive;
a perverse
mutilation
of thought.

Pad-locked
and secret
are the lies
I've told.
The lives
I've lead
and those I've
destroyed.

Underneath the rubble
and debris
breathes a girl
so lost,
squandering herself
aimlessly;
without reason.

So in the box
you will stay,
wrapped up warm
in blankets of
regret,
until the time comes
to clean out
what lies beneath
my bed.