The Monster under My Bed - Draft 1

 I got a monster under my bed.

So I would run to my parents' room,

and they would tuck me into mine

and they would read me bible verses,

and the verses would silence the monster's growl.

***

Few years later, I still got a monster under my bed.

Despite puberty, parties, and pop punk,

the monster was still there,

Growling, howling, calling.

One night I dared myself to see what's under my bed,

But I saw nothing.

But I could hear its voice. 

I could hear it all.

***

I moved to a big city and went to a university.

I thought I left the monster under my bed.

But it followed me to my room.

Sometimes it growled at night.

But I tried not to think too much about it.

The night I graduated, it roared.

*** 

I got my first job.

Before I knew it, I got two kids.

The kids never told me about any monster under their beds.

But I know I still have mine under.

It's just now... under control?

I've learned to live with it. Tolerate it. Neglect it.

The growls, the howls, the calls - they're all muffled.

Even if they had been loud at night, I guess I must've been too tired to listen.

When you're all grown up, monsters aren't that scary.

Clients, bills, and responsibilities are.

***

I'm laying in my coffin.

There's no monster under my coffin.

It's just me, preparing myself for the perpetual moment of the dull slumber.

It's nothing unlike my life, anyway.

I've lived a normal life.

And I've reached my final moment.

But once I had a monster under my bed.

It growled, it howled, it called.

It took every inch of its strength to wake me up.

I should have listened.

I didn't.

***

Image taken from Michael Kozlowski's writing