monsters

the girl sits on the edge
of her roof, the wind throwing
her hair in the air.

her blue eyes sparkle as she 
dangles her legs over the ledge,
watching cars go by beneath her.

she closes her eyes, breathing
in the crisp autumn air, diluted
by the city fumes.

what she would give to live
in the country, where she could sit
in the grass and smell the 
flowers and dip her feet in
babbling brooks.

she does not notice 
the shadowy figure
that seems to sit down next
to her on the edge of
the roof.

the hair on the back of her
neck stands, her eyes wide as she hears
the soft exhale.

what she see's is not a man,
a greedy boy, a robber, a rapist
a burglar, a criminal,but a 
monster. 

a lonely creature, eyes full
of pain and sorrow, full of the
weight that humanity has 
placed upon it.

she does not scream. she
does not run.
she sits there, next to the monster
and waits.

and every night, she would
sit there on the edge of the roof
until the monster, her monster
would come sit next to her
and listen to her stories
of the world.

she is unaware of the 
growing darkness in the monsters
eyes, the pain that he
cannot run from.

years and years pass.
she moves away, but he
follows her. she talks
of her sadness, of how
she cannot sleep at night,
and he listens.

every night.
15 years.
until one night,
she waits and waits,
but he does not come.

she waits for hours, 
watching the sun rise from
her roof, but he does not
come.

every night.
71 years.
she waited for him.
her once blue eyes now a
stormy gray, her blond hair
a shock of white. 

she lived alone in her
cottage, drinking tea and
watching the days go by
without her beloved
monster.

one sunny day as she
walked through the woods,
she saw him.
her monster.

she stared at him, her
grey eyes filling with tears
as he ran towards her.

she wrapped her frail arms
around him, closing her eyes as
she gasped for breath, hot tears
running down her face.

and in that moment, she
could remember it all so clearly.

the nights of stargazing.
the hours of talking.
the midnight laughs.
her monster had returned.

and as they returned to the
cottage, she knew her time on this
earth was over.

that the wait was over.

71 years of gazing into the
distance, hoping to see the shadow.

71 years of hoping it was him.

71 years, she said to him.

71 years i waited for you, dear friend,
and it was worth it.

it was worth it.

my monster