Ruins

I see ruins in your eyes

But that’s where I love to dwell

I reconstruct the battles you’ve fought

You must have gone through hell.

Armed to my teeth

Because I know demons live here

You’ve locked them away

But from time to time they reappear.

I will fight beside you

If you want me to

And we could get away

Like you’ve always wanted to

But the thing is

Your mind is a home you will always have to return to.

This is a dark place

And I’m standing here in the midst of day

I can’t imagine the nights

Perhaps that’s why you want to sleep next to me

And when we’re together

You sheathe your weapons

But you never lose them

Out of sight.

And I get that.

Because

When those you love

Turn into demons and ghosts

When loneliness

Feels closest to home

When wolves surround you

Staring hungrily

When they attack

If weakness is what they see

When nightmares don’t limit themselves to sleep

When the only thing to do

Seems to be to weep

When all your weapons

Can’t protect you from pain

When even the most distant place

Still has rain

That’s when you’ll realize

You will never fully be yourself

Until all your demons

are Slain.

Art: Yuri Shwedoff