It’s not the creature, that monster
that hid under your bed, haunting
the darkness, and it’s not a beast
out of the jungle of your day, some
giant being ready to pounce down
on you when you least expect it.
It’s nothing like that, it’s something
small, something that is in you and
waiting for just the right moment
to catch you unprepared, to start
the process, the journey we all will
take, a journey we all take alone
without some outside fiend or ogre
to blame – it’s just ourselves acting
out the selves we must admit to
and be
.
J. K. Durick is a retired writing teacher and online writing tutor. His recent poems have appeared in Third Wednesday, Black Coffee Review, Literary Yard, Sparks of Calliope, Synchronized Chaos, Madswirl, Journal of Expressive Writing, Lightwood, and Highland Park Poetry.