My Depression was the Boogeyman

The monster under my bed

The imaginary beasts that

At one time

Could not hurt me

Until I realized

The monster is real

It brings demons from another plane

Haunting my very mind

But they taught me to ignore the Boogeyman

“Pretend it doesn’t exist”

And so I learned to feign ignorance at my father’s side

To fake confidence at my mother’s knee

Pretend, pretend, pretend

Live in this denial

Pretend, pretend

Shrug away the shadow that flickers at my shoulder

Pretend

Lie through my teeth

When they ask, “Are you okay?”

Do not let them know of your stalker

That unwanted presence dogging my every step

…

I cannot pretend

Not anymore

How can I

When the pretending is what brought it in the first place.

~Quill