the city

Monsters

Everyday, I go on adventures,
and I ride my jetpack through the sky.
And when I get home,
I remember the monsters that have missed me so.

The first is little Cheery,
hiding under my bed.
You don't know,
but he's actually very sad.

He makes mischief
to make up for the literal hole in his chest,
and makes up stories
to replace the static in his head.

The next is Swirly,
who's made a home on my bedside table.
He cuddles up with me at night,
and whispers things in my ear.

Together we go on our own little quests,
defeating monsters and villains in strange lands.
We cross oceans and sink ships,
fight armies and save villagers.

And when I wake up in the morning,
Disquiet settles into my chest.
There he stays,
comes with me on my journeys.

He sometimes gets quite bothersome,
causes me to lose focus.
He's a trickster, you see,
and his favorite victim is me.

Sometimes, good old Whimsy visits me.
she holds my hand,
shows me vivid images
of what she's seen.

She makes me write,
inspires my poems and stories.
I see topsy turvy buildings and flying cars,
and I guess she brings back an old part of me.

But my favorite,
if you promise you won't tell the rest,
is Penny,
who sits right on my desk.

She doesn't talk much,
only likes to doodle small pictures.
Now and again,
I concur she's insane.

Though I've only shown you a few,
they've got brothers and sisters too.
Perhaps you'd find them on your wall or in your kitchen,
anywhere you think they might be lurking.