Memories - Alone

Daemons prowl, whisper, and growl

Surrounding, at night, my childhood home.

At most times, it is my fortress

But the moat dries up when I’m alone.

The perimeter is insecure

Shut windows, doors, all feel agape.

Locked tightly in reality;

Held open by my fear of rape.

I clean, inspect, and barricade

So fearsome sounds can’t penetrate

Each noise linked to a memory

That years of safety can’t obliterate.

At home, no one has hurt me;

Nothing evil ever crept inside

But alone in this large space

I feel naked, unsafe, spread, and tied.