There are demons in the darkness of your eyes,

in the bruises underneath them

 

I look at you, but you cannot look at me

 

There are demons in the downward curl of your lips,

lounging on your tongue

All I hear when you speak is your broken glass voice,

tears lodged in your throat

 

There are demons in your heart

A family in each chamber

beat, beat, beating your whole body,

they pump tar into your veins

 

You breathe in so that they may take refuge in your lungs

Soon every inhale is a sob

And every exhale a prayer to a god you have never known

 

There are demons in the crevices of your mind,

the corners of your thoughts

You bash your skull against the brick of the wall

beat them out of your brain

 

But they love you too much to leave

 

There are demons in the pit of your stomach,

posing as butterflies

sipping acid

and ripping you apart

 

You beg me to hit you

unintelligible pleas

 

You rest my hand against your stomach

My fingers curl but do not offer the pain you need

You scream, I scream

 

My refusal is your soft hands wrapping around a knife

 

These are the demons 

 

They are in your ears

whispering 

promising relief

They bear their teeth as you bleed

 

Your body relaxes

You are where you need to be

The demons are your blood

 

forming an ocean around me