There is evil in the world,

An all encompassing darkness,

Pitch black like a raven's wing

And there is good in the world

A glimmering light,

Illuminating like a beacon of the sea,

Meant to guide those who are lost

Through the unforgiving night

There is good, there is evil

And there is a space within

A gray area,

Existing to bridge the gap in between

One where light and darkness mingle,

Conversing like old friends

For decades, even centuries,

There has been evil in good,

Light in darkness

Existing together,

Needing one another to survive

As long as there is evil

In the world,

There will be good,

A glimmering beacon,

To combat it

You say this

I say that

Go this way

Or go there

Care

But I don’t

Cause I can’t

And neither can you

Whatever delusions you might share with others

About what’s right

Or wrong

Is tacit

Mutually assured something or other

The illusions we carry with us that other’s understand us

Those shapeshifters

All the words we’ve used

Use

Or will ever use

In whatever voice

Is ever spoken

In future tongues

Are allusions Humans use

To try make things a little better

In cooperation with others

Pain, I’m in physical pain. It’s dark, I don’t know where I am. I see a silhouette of a tall man in the corner. I can see him grinning at me from the light of the moon outside. I don’t know this man, he’s wearing a hat.

I turn away to run from this Man, I don’t know why I’m running but I feel like I must get away from him. I try to run as fast as I can, but my strides are too slow. I look back and see him following me, I try to scream but no noise comes out.

There’s no one to save me, I don’t know why I’m running.

I find a bathroom, I try to hide. There is a stall I run inside. “Lock the door, so he can’t reach you” echoed from the sky.

I lock the door, but I’m far too late. This man, this stranger pushes the door in. He’s no longer wearing a hat.

I try to scream, my voice gone as if I never had one.

He hurt me.

I wake up in my bed shaking. It was just a dream. My hands are hurting. I look down to see my fingers closed into my palms. I release them and see blood stained marks in the shape of my nails. My jaw hurts from clenching, tears streaming down my face.

I’m safe, but I’m all too scared. The recurring nightmare has come back.

I’ll need to sleep with the light on again.

I’m floating

In the

Known.

All

Mine

Known

Familiar

Explored.

Everything I see

Is something

Comforting.

It’s my home.

The safety of

My walls.

The food

Cooking in the

Kitchen.

The soft

Music

Coming from the piano.

Until

I

Sink

Deeper.

It

Pulls

Swallows

Grasps

Captures

And

Tosses me

Into the

Unknown.

It’s the darkness.

The darkness

Swallows me

I don’t know

Where I am.

My home is

Gone.

Everything is different.

I’m

Lost

Helpless

In the

Dark.

But

Slowly

The light

It comes

I can see

It.

It grows

Swells

Expands

It gets

Closer

And closer.

Until I am

So close

I almost

Touch the soft blankets

Taste the fresh cookies

Smell the hot pancakes

Hear the music

I’m

Almost back

To my known

My home

My safety

My comfort.

But not

Close enough.

The darkness and

The light pull

At me

I can’t

Change

It.

I can’t

Affect

It.

I’m stuck

In between

The light

And

The dark.