The Monster Inside

I'm tired,

falling into another daydream,

wanting someone to grab me by the arm

and shake me back to reality

I'm choking on my own blood

walking back and forth through the dark, musty

corridors of my mind

the ceiling drips,

drips

twisting,

falling, 

shaking,

the walls of the corridors breathe with

every step I take

they envelop me

and then release

gripping,

releasing,

pulling me along

every ten feet,

a dim lamp -

but the shadows are stronger

I can only see the outlines

the walls pull me along

The stale air sets heavy in my lungs

it is a thick river

flowing in

and out

I breath and I step in sync with 

the corridors

my footsteps echo

my heartbeat echos

every step is heavier

sinking,

falling,

holding fast to the slimy, 

moss-covered bricks

holding fast to the light of the next lantern

holding fast to the hope of an escape

The darkness weakens me

I fall

and succumb to the grip of the 

serpent-like floor

the bricks become scales,

the hideous skin of the beast,

secreting an acid

that eats my skin

and burns

and dissolves me

until I cannot feel the difference

between myself and the floor

oozing,

unfolding,

I become one with the beast

and I breathe as it breathes

my heart beats as its heart beats

falling,

sinking,

moss-covered and slimy,

I become stone

I am bricks

I am corridors

the dim lights hit my surface

and I am one with the monster...

- Feb. 20, 1984, A.D.