A detailed case for never growing up
i used to spend all day in the woods
in a world of flying fairies, camouflage dragons, underground gnomes, and magic elves.
there, I believed the enemy lived without
as long as i was within, i was always safe
but the truth no one ever told me
my enemy wasn’t the monster at home
with fist made of invincible stone
the master of lies
the good son in disguise
my enemy was inside all along
not inside the woods
but inside of me
my enemy got stronger every day
eventually the fairies flew away and never returned
the dragons permanently faded into the trees
the gnomes never came above ground
and the the elves took their magic away
eventually the enemy in me, took me out of the woods
and everyday, every year, my enemy got a celebration
happy birthday, a reminder that doesn’t count the number of years since my birth
but the number since the death
the death of my imagination
the imagination that kept me safe
you may think the woods were full of lies
full of unreal friends who didn’t exists
but because of those friends, i live
they gave me a world to escape to
from the real monster everyone told me to pretend didn’t exist
but how can i fight a monster that grows stronger every day
what weapon does the safety of my imagination have against age
there’s a something else that grows with time
when all is but lost
and the battles with past demons have been fought
i stand on a mountain of hope
because that child in the woods
she still believes
not in magic elves, gnomes, dragons, and fairies
but in me
Written for @writerscreed prompt week of Dec 8th 2018, “A detailed case for ___”