the air is always sweeter past midnight
illuminated by streetlights
the world is silent
deadly
I don’t fear the dark
or the people in it
I’ve seen the worst they can do
they have nothing to hide
I fear the monsters
the one’s of my imagination
they start to come out of the shadows
after several sleepless nights
black and tall, pitiful sunken eyes
they watch me from the hallway
echoing my reflection
please don’t follow me into the dark
waiting for me
wanting to swallow me whole
I sink to the ground on the side of the road
hiding behind an electrical post
leave me in the dirt
never coming too close
they never speak, they only watch
they want to pull me down with them
drag me out of my mind through my eye sockets
take my thoughts to a different place
I’m not ready to leave yet
I walk from the airport fields to the store on the corner
18th street deli
open late into the night
monsters can’t follow me inside
they watch from the windows
patient
sleep puts the monsters back into hiding
but to sleep is to dream
one must decide which is worse
I should know, for I’ve tried
I tore off the closet doors
and put my mattress on the floor
nowhere for monsters to hide
so they turn invisible
or watch from the crack under the door
they’ll drive you insane
taking on new forms
sneaking up behind your reflection
growing bolder
a flash of a child in perfect detail disappears around the corner
a woman in all white
they watch you
Melatonin cannot ease my aching bones
Benadryl cannot lull me to sleep
Hydroxyzine worsens the fog
wake up