Imagination

My mind explodes with universes
That are mine to create
Mine to expand
Mine to bring alive

I see the leaves fall
And see the fairies riding them
Laughing as they twirl and glide
Racing each other to the ground

I see the runner passing by
And see the motivation
Swirling around their mind
And moving their legs faster

I see the world around me
And see how much more
It could be, it would be
With a little more magic

A vivid imagination like mine
Is seen as a blessing
By those around me
I alone see the curse

I see the dark corners of my room
And see the demon hiding in it
Mouth stretched wide
And eyes ripped out

I see the face of my teacher
And see it start to melt
Dripping away, still talking
Unaware of the horror it has befallen

I see the metal bar on the wall
And see it come to life
Reaching out to strangle
All those it can reach

They are real
And not
They are alive
And never exist

I see them
And they are invisible
I hear them
And they are silent

I draw them
To put them in reality
To replace their terror
With simple lines and shading

My friends look on
And wonder aloud at them
Gasping at their features
Calling them terrifying

No, I want to say,
It’s not that scary
It’s a shadow of the real one
And it’s not even finished

I haven’t added the gaping holes
Where there should be eyes
Or the rotting skin
Surrounding the sockets

I haven’t added the pointed teeth
In a mouth stretched too wide
Or the blood crusted in corners
And drooling from the lips

I haven’t added the body
With naught but skin and bones
Showing the head is on backwards
Snapped around in fury

I only have the outline
And the stringy hair
And the crooked nose
And the sunken face

And still they call it scary
Ask how I come up with these things
Ask me how many horror movies I watch
And how much they scare me

I watch them from time to time
But they don’t scare me
As they used to when I was young
They don’t live up to the hype

They don’t leer in my face
At two in the morning
Breathing hot, coppery breaths
Right into my nostrils

They don’t hang about in my dreams
Sticking to the shadows
Poking out from time to time
So I know they are there

They don’t stand behind me
Throughout my waking moments
Almost able to be forgotten
But never completely

A vivid imagination
Is a blessing and a curse
I see the magic of the world
But I see the evil too

And it never leaves me alone