Madness

It stalked my nights, silently creeping, invading my mind

Shadows hid its identity

I saw it in the corner of my eye, but it fled quickly when I turned to see

It spoke in voices inside my head, seductive, dark, and full of hate

Laughing at the madness it would create

Sometimes, alone, I thought it was over, finally free of fear

But each night, it returned, scraping its claws inside my skull

Getting my blood under its grotesque fingernails

Tormented by thoughts not my own

Goaded to hurt, to hate, to hide while it laughed at me

Each creek, pop, snap of a limb, alerted me to its presence

I tried to run but it followed me

I tried to drown it out with music and rhyme but still it cackled wildly

I tried to drive it away with pain as I slammed my head into walls, breaking veins, bruising skin

But on and on it mocked me

This evil pranced and danced on my spine, bending me to its will

The voices shouted, whispered and seethed, directing my actions to its end

Tired and defeated, I gave in

This mania took me and used my body like a whore, uncaring and abusive

It found amusement in my confusion, pain, and sorrow but grew weary of my pleading

It swooped down upon my consciousness, obliterating the light, leaving nothing

Blissfully unaware, I slept.....

Slowly, light chased shadows into corners, scattering them like pesky roaches

I awoke to the smell of death, blood on my hands, hair under my nails

It was the last scent I would be conscious of

I stood and turned to look into the mirror on the wall

On the floor, I saw dead eyes staring back at me, face half missing, hair pulled out, all motion stilled

They were my eyes; it was my face and my hair......my body never moved again

I searched within for the voices that guided me

No voices answered my questions

Silence, like soft, music caressed my senses

The pain now gone, the monster that haunted me, forever a bad memory

Released from gravity on a peaceful sigh, I floated upwards through swirls of dust and tip-toed away

Careful not to wake me