They Creep in the Night

They creep in the night,
fleeting, yet with the sound of heavy footfalls,
gone, then returning, ever deeper, threatening
in the still passage of time…

The open windows to my soul
invite them in, giving free license
to enter and attempt their ends…

I slip in and out of consciousness,
fighting to stay awake, exhausted,
the unsettling dreams my only rest
in the gloomy nightmare…

When they finally enter,

I instinctively jump up to contest them,
for I know their weapons well-
recklessly wielded

during my young, discovery days…

When I stand, most wither and run,
cowed like all weak tyrants
dependent on obtaining their domination
through the destruction of others…

When I capture them,

they are disassembled quickly;

some I wrestle with for a while,
some I voluntarily succumb to
just so the wounds they inflict stay fresh,
and my resolution, though pain, remains focused and strong…

They are perceptions, these invaders,

that bend our mindframes,
that hire themselves out as mercenaries

in order to manipulate others...

So why should I care, why the passion,
what drives me into explosive confrontation
when I encounter them?

Why I still allow some domination

over my vulnerable psyche

I’ve given you my guesses;

Why I viciously attack those who abuse its power
when I could peacefully walk way
my bruised heart and battle-scarred mind

will never understand,
or forgive me for…

It could simply be that I care,

though that motive is rarely visible;

and I can live with that...

When I come across pretenders, posers, the pompous,
the vicious schemers who themselves are shaped by twisted notions
endeavoring to twist others,

or having already twisted them,

I look down and see clenched, raging fists

that will not be contained,
and which I no longer attempt to contain…

Perhaps such evil perpetrators

are simply in social discovery themselves,

and I should be more sympathetic...

well, let them discover...

Perhaps my reactions are born

of the psychological torture we’ve all endured,
first as young, defenseless victims,
then later just to remind ourselves what evil is,
for such suffering builds strength, we guess,
strength that may be directed toward a useful purpose after all…