It\u2019s Like This<\/p>\n
By<\/p>\n
Jennifer Angelina Petro<\/p>\n
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I stand here.\u00a0 The monster<\/p>\n
Stands there\u2014in front of me<\/p>\n
Mirroring my every move.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Separating us is a glass wall<\/p>\n
Whisper thick and strong as hope.<\/p>\n
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Some days I barely think<\/p>\n
Of the monster, yet I know it\u2019s there–<\/p>\n
I see it, out of the corner of my eye,<\/p>\n
Doing everything I do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are days it pounds on the glass\u2014<\/p>\n
Howling, pacing, and somehow<\/p>\n
Growing.\u00a0 Every morning<\/p>\n
I reinforce the wall, look at the monster,<\/p>\n
And stare it down.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lately, I notice spiderwebbing cracks blooming<\/p>\n
Over the wall.\u00a0 The monster presses<\/p>\n
The glass, testing its solidity, smiling.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I assume it will hold.\u00a0 I assume it is<\/p>\n
Strong enough.\u00a0 And then I blink and the monster\u2019s hand<\/p>\n
Passes through the wall as if it isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
I blink again and the monster is back<\/p>\n
On the other side of the wall, blocked<\/p>\n
From reaching me, or, at least, I assume.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Going about my life, dependent<\/p>\n
On a wall whisper thick and strong as hope<\/p>\n
Makes me feel, at times, like a sham, like<\/p>\n
If it wasn\u2019t for the wall the monster would be<\/p>\n
All there is, like I am not as truly well<\/p>\n
As I think I am.<\/p>\n
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The wall will not last forever,<\/p>\n
The wall may need to be adjusted<\/p>\n
In strength, and still I fear it will not last<\/p>\n
Forever.<\/p>\n
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And all the while the monster<\/p>\n
Grows, waiting, watching, studying what I do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If the wall finally gives way,<\/p>\n
The monster will take hold of me, toss me to where<\/p>\n
It once stood, build a wall of its own,<\/p>\n
Scream-thick and strong as hell,<\/p>\n
And it will go into my life, smiling,<\/p>\n
Leaving me behind and to do everything<\/p>\n
It does, but in slow motion, all the while I am turning<\/p>\n
Into a memory of light snuffed out<\/p>\n
By the dark.<\/p>\n
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