My Asuras

Often, late at night
And in the wee hours of the morning
When sleep eludes me,
The demons in my mind
Have free-range over the playing fields.

Sorrow, fear, and anger
Join the ghosts of my childhood and youth
And romp about in my mind,
Playing gleefully with skeins
Of my memory, dreams and thoughts.

I used to hate them.
Fought to banish them.
Drew the dead bolts
Across my mind.

But they are lithe and nimble-
These demons of mine.
They slip back in and watch with innocent glee
As I vent my rage and frustration against them on my own body.

But now,
I let them be.

Now,
In the wee hours of the morning,
When I still wander about the house,
Listening to the gentle rythms of my husband snoring,
I skip and dance and play along
With MY demons in my mind.

Now,
They are demons no more.

---GST