i used to spend all day in the woods

in a world of flying fairies, camouflage dragons, underground gnomes, and magic elves.

there, I believed the enemy lived without

as long as i was within, i was always safe

but the truth no one ever told me

my enemy wasn’t the monster at home

with fist made of invincible stone

the master of lies

the good son in disguise

my enemy was inside all along

not inside the woods

but inside of me

my enemy got stronger every day

eventually the fairies flew away and never returned

the dragons permanently faded into the trees

the gnomes never came above ground

and the the elves took their magic away

eventually the enemy in me, took me out of the woods

and everyday, every year, my enemy got a celebration

happy birthday, a reminder that doesn’t count the number of years since my birth

but the number since the death

the death of my imagination

the imagination that kept me safe

you may think the woods were full of lies

full of unreal friends who didn’t exists

but because of those friends, i live

they gave me a world to escape to

from the real monster everyone told me to pretend didn’t exist

but how can i fight a monster that grows stronger every day

what weapon does the safety of my imagination have against age

there’s a something else that grows with time

when all is but lost

and the battles with past demons have been fought

i stand on a mountain of hope

because that child in the woods

she still believes

not in magic elves, gnomes, dragons, and fairies

but in me