Demons

They follow me everywhere.

To my thoughts and my words and my little feelings

I want to pour black paint over.

They chase me in the daylight

Grasp my neck

Until I cannot breathe

They squeeze my heart faster

So my blood runs cold

And burn my throat with bile

From the dread in my stomach.

My legs move

As if possessed.

Does nobody else see them?

They hold me in the night

And remind me how everyone has left me

But them.

They carry me through the storms of my heart

The battles of my mind

And the pain of my soul.

They give me black markers

So I can choke on my tears

And smile to everyone around me

Because I am fine.

They help me draw over all my bruises

So I can cover the dark rings under my eyes

With a tube of concealer that needs to be refilled

And turn my head from my dark past

To the future I can create.

My demons are my only friends.