A smile on my face,

A burning in my eyes,

A cry behind a mask,

Monsters behind a disguise.

One monster craves

the words to prove you’re okay,

it brings tears to your eyes

when you can’t run away

from the words that break

you down and rip your heart.

One monster bites

so constantly, you’re numb.

They try to warn you,

but your ears only hear the dumb

little monsters that refuse

to let you ignore

their presence.

One monster jumps

on the ground at a moment,

in the air at the next.

Your mind is not an opponent.

You’ll jump high,

you’ll jump low,

but the way you land

determines your growth.

One monster cries

tears in the sky light,

while telling you

their problems are worse,

they’re fighting a worse fight.

You can’t compare it,

there is no comparison,

you can’t even tell anyone

there was a war to begin with.

One monster screams

in the dead of the night,

coming up with solutions

to stop your endless fright.

One monster begs

for nothing to be eaten.

It will get better,

stop being weak and

try to understand

other people have it worse.

You can miss a meal.

Understand that

this is a deal

you’ll survive.

One monster shares

a story about a girl

who’s friends with the

monsters living in her head,

because, in reality,

they were never under her bed.

Instead,

they were in her home,

in her brain,

with her soul,

by her side.

Now how did she survive?

They were not only in her home,

they were her home.

The things she relied on

when she didn’t feel safe,

when she wanted to

dig an endless grave.

The monsters were her home,

never take that away from her

unless you want a war

that is more than a massacre.