Monday, October 08, 2007

Dark




Once we were young, and knew
the monsters in the dark were real,
waiting there among the shoes
and shirts for another juicy meal.

But we lived and learned, most of us,
that shadow phantoms were the least
of it, that sunlit dailiness
could hold more terrors than the beast.

Now, old, we tardy scholars
serve our demons bread and broth;
we gossip with our midnight callers,
but dread the dusty kisses of the moth.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

So often of late I hear myself say to myself, "If I knew then what I know now..."
No regrets, though. Just courage for what's ahead.
I love your stuff...

John said...

Thanks Leslie. I must tell you how much I'm enjoying your saga. Takes me back, and I want to stay there.

Unknown said...

The past makes us the people we are now - uh oh!

So good to look back, but don't do it too often or you might get clobbered on the back of the head by the exciting things to come in the future.

John said...

Sometimes getting clobbered is the best thing that can happen. Yes? No?

Debi said...

Oh yes ... definitely yes ...

Unknown said...

Well, tis better to take the clobbering than to duck and miss the whole exciting episode completely.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, John. There were good aspects to those times. Of course, being younger was an assist. There was a sense that maybe, just maybe, we were going to be there to see everyone have their epiphany. I still hold hope.
I'm actually enjoying now the 'good' company of feeding bread to the demons...

Unknown said...

Mine always hid under the bed but now I've shooed them out and meet up with them on the roads instead.

S.L. Corsua said...

Maybe it's all about fear and domination/subordination... the object thereof is the one that changes form and face but will always be fondly called "the monster".

Thought-provoking write. Cheers. ^_^