14
How can I be afraid?
The monster is in the closet,
the lucky one gets to hide.
I show my face to everyone.
The voices get behind me;
they never speak from within.
Should the noise be my own?
Could my voice be quieter?
I run ’til I have no feet;
I crawl ’til I have no arms;
I smile without any teeth;
I close the eyes I get to keep.
How can I be afraid?
Nothing goes the way I want.
Yet I’m still smiling.
Everything goes the way I need.
The monster in the closet—
it is afraid I stopped speaking to it.
The monster is scared and lonely.
The monster screams louder, and louder,
and louder…
