Whisper In The Dark

By Deeti Gupta

A soft whisper in the dark;

It's the wind,

It has to be.

A knock on the door;

It's midnight,

There is no wind.

It must be a cat.

Someone breathing

On the back of my neck;

It's probably just my hair.

Everyday it's something new.

Every day

A new excuse:

It's the pile of clothes

I left on the chair,

Or I'm just panicking,

A tap must be leaking in the kitchen.

And then one day:

It's a monster,

It looks like me,

It sleeps under my bed.

Did I ever keep a mirror there?

I have no excuse:

I can see it,

It can touch me.

I can hear it,

It can hurt me.

It is scared;

A shiver runs down my spine.

We fight.

I am not a monster,

I can't hurt it

If it looks like me;

So it scratches my arm,

And it's arm is bleeding now;

It hurt itself.

The monster is me;

I am the monster:

And I made my life

My personal hell.

By Deeti Gupta