us humans are all full of them, tiny monsters rattling around behind eyelids

(roaring their horrible roars, gnashing their terrible teeth)

they echo grim loops, their people sink further in, trying to swim, that bottom-of-the-well feeling//

monsters grow long like shadows and gobble all of it up whole/

maybe these things we experience- whether it be a paralysis or a depression, a worry or a swiftly narrowing perspective, anxiety, jealousy... perhaps they don’t have to be so blindingly controlling,

perhaps the stranglehold these monsters have over their humans can wiggle loose// unpinning claws and unhooking teeth. take a step backward and look at them all in turn//

this one’s jaw opens wide, that one howls in the night, this one takes tiny little footsteps soft and deliberate, that one has a long looping tail or many pairs of tired eyes or arms that hang melancholy and heavy,

don’t shut them out, don’t walk away, don’t muffle them beneath your palm or cover your ears, the roaring is tiny now

these creatures great and small are a menagerie of your own making

Scoop one up!

(mind the spikes)

and meet it eye to eye, don’t squeeze your eyes or scream them all away

realize these ferocious critters are yours// they deserve to be treated with

love/ patience/ a gentle heart/ soft palms

say hello to one another, one at a time

put them on your shoulders and in your hat

walk slowly through the warmth of the afternoon//

(together)