This Thing That Lives Inside Me

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

I'm not really sure where

Or what it is.

But it's black.

Inside me I can feel

Its blackness

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

Maybe in my psyche

Or in my soul

And it devours me from within

Ripping into my being

With claws and teeth

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

And it has a chokehold

On my mind

Creating chaos and discord

Every time it makes

Its presence known

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

Wreaking havoc on

What is me

Speaking in tongues,

I hear its voice leave

My own lips

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

It's started to take control

Of my thoughts

Turning them black

The same blackness

As itself.

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

And it holds my heart

As its prisoner

Weighing it down with

The heaviness of hopelessness

And despair

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

It's determined to claim me

As its prize

Taking me to the edge

Of my own existence

To see if I'll jump.

There is this thing that lives

Inside me...

Now standing in the path

Between me and you

Between me and life

Laughing at me

Mocking

Because this thing that lives

Inside me...

Has made me weak and

Too tired to fight

Through its relentless

And unyielding attack

And it knows it.

But this thing that lives

Inside me...

Even in my weakened state

I will still fight to stand against

Because you asked me

Not to leave you

Alone.