I remember my demons too well
Their power; their force
Their reach stretched beyond what I could ever imagine
And bolted past what I could feel
With my lack of discipline, they overpowered my world
And prevented the sun’s rising each day
For they thrived in the darkness
And embodied a space where no light survived
And every night, they dragged me by the feet
Claw marks along the wall
We traveled down a narrow tunnel
Where I heard all the voices, magnified and clear
Their venom echoed through the hallow chamber
And pierced straight through my chest
Boom! Boom!
They bounced off the walls
An echo trailed with each hit
Louder and louder
Until I was surrounded
A whirl of thundering chaos blocked my path back home
It’s there, deep in the abyss
They got to work
Evolving into multiple appendages to stay alive
As they grew stronger, I grew weaker
And poison infested my insides
Tormented by constant struggle
My thoughts abandoned me
And I eventually relinquished all control
Year after year, night after night
I sulked and mumbled behind in the shadows
I hid and forgot about time
But when all hope was lost
And I was drowning in my storm
A peculiar thing occurred
I called upon a powerful source
One found only deep within
And in my time of need, I woke my soul from its long slumber
My soul, now leading the way
I gained back control
I saw the weakness and sorrow in their eyes
I heard their lies and felt their destruction full on
And slowly, with time,
The damage began to heal.
Every memory of abandonment and rejection eased
And began to wash away
But little did I know
My demons would soon return, time and time again
Only they wilted with every new visit
Weaker and quieter they arrived each time
“Are you still here?” we might say,
“After all this time?”
