Darkness

it wasn't the dark that scared me or the unknowns hidden amongst the ink. but the hours that stretched on forever. awake. alone in a house full of people. the mice in the walls aren't good company but they help to remind me to come back to this Earth. so long ago. it feels.. blurry on the edges. like when you wipe the soot from a singed photograph. but the fear still so strong I can smell and taste it. fear of not the darkness or things that lurk in the night but my own skull and the demons ravaging me therein screaming, screeching at the bones and membrane. from my ears and words some try to escape. the tears shed aren't for me. just from exhaustion. and now i see the night sky and I feel like I see myself finally stardust. no more hours awake wishing to simply leave my skin the silence is welcome now. like the hush of a quiet forest right before a cleansing storm. my head is no longer so full of darkness, leaving room for light and thought. the demons all but gone. only remaining are of my own choosing and those seared into my soul.