my monsters crowd around me,
i stare into a no-fun house of mirrors
showing me all the angles i try
to forget. my therapist says i can’t
make the monsters disappear
no matter how much i pay her.
all she can do is bring them
into the room, so i can get
to know them, so i can learn
their names, so i can see
clearly their toothless mouths,
their empty hands, their pleading eyes.