monsters

my monsters take advantage of me

they devour the food i don't eat because i'm not skinny enough

quenching their thirst with the tears that stain my pillow because i'm not pretty enough.

my parents always checked for the monsters under my bed

but they really should have paid more attention to the ones in my head.

the ones that convinced me i'm not skinny enough

the ones that convinced me i'm not pretty enough

because those are the monsters that did the real damage.

Reviews

[David E Navarro]

As soon as I read this poem, I loved it. I loved the brutal honesty, I loved the attitude, I loved the way it was worded, and I loved the problem that it exposes.

I loved the way the monster was used to do things in the poem that are figurative, such as "devouring the food I don't eat" and "quenching their thirst with the tears that stain my pillow" both fantastic lines that make this affliction come alive for the reader.

This poem imparts an experience and deep feelings, the inadequacy, the mental struggle, the frustration, all are very evident and well communicated.

And the unspoken message to readers is, don't be these kind of parents to your children that this poem portrays, love them intimately and be a part of their minds.

It seems like such a simple poem up front, but the depth in this is astounding.

In fact, this poem was so good that it was selected by NavWorks Press for publication in our volume, Sometimes Anyway.

See my Writer's Café blog for more details: http://www.writerscafe.org/navworks/blogs/Release-of-Two-New-Books/126161/

Fantastic work, thanks for sharing.

[emipoemi]

The monsters in our heads are the worst of the worst. There are a lot of us in that boat. Well done!

[Jade]

Such an emotional read those last three lines I feel that way some times