“A Daughter Protects Her Father”

by Samantha Monson

A father and a daughter loved each other,
she was his little princess,
the father built her a house
promised her she was safe inside.

Their house had every security measure:
cameras lining the outside,
locks on every window,
and a baseball bat by his bed.

The father worried he protected her too much,
she wasn’t ready for what waited outside,
but the daughter grew up.

She never had the heart to tell him
about the men
the cameras didn’t see,
or the shattered glass from the rocks they threw,
and how they had baseball bats of their own.

She wanted to protect him from the truth:
that nothing could stop what lurked outside,
And no one would stop her from leaving.

“Misery Loves Company”

by Samantha Monson

There’s a worm that lives inside my phone,
He sleeps inside my apps,
When I am lonely I open them up,
Inviting him to join me.
He slides in through my eye socket,
Dances along the optic nerve.
Feels good at first.
He reaches my brain,
Following the winding path of nerves and neurons,
Silently snapping synapses.
Erasing the countless reasons why I need to get out of bed today.
He always stops at the hypothalamus,
Releasing enough dopamine to make me numb.
After the high of dopamine,
I begin to fall.
He crawls down, down, down,
Through my intestines,
Until he reaches the stomach.
He makes me sick,
Like I want to vomit
Or rip myself open.
He begins to eat me,
Carving a hole into my abdomen.
Making a black hole
That sucks me in from the inside.
I just lie there.
Slowly being consumed.
I could always tell the worm to leave
But it hurts more to be alone.

“She Loved the Rain”

by Samantha Monson

Whenever it rains I think of her.
Grey skies and rainy weather were her favorite.
Why?
I try to understand
I go outside, standing face up
Letting the rain soak into me.
Trying to soak up what she felt
But all I feel is cold.

I always love to hear the story.
She got caught in a hurricane.
The wind had just started to pick up,
Rain just starting to turn into a downpour.
Everyone else ran inside for shelter,
She ran through the streets.
Like a ball of sunshine
Bouncing in a blender of dark water.

It rained at her funeral
Just as everyone was arriving.
They all ran inside for cover
I stayed.
Watching the droplets fall around me,
Tracing different patterns through the air.
Searching for her face in the clouds.
Tears mixing with rain.

Whenever it rains I think of her
And how she isn’t here to dance in the storm.