The Devil You Alone Perceive

So this is what you’ve come to? Naked fear
of crowded sidewalks, sudden roadblocks, lamps
that flicker feverish and crazy, chants
that echo in a vacant church? The jeering’s

in your head—and shining through your skin,
a purple smear of bruising where the fist
would land if there were such a fist. You miss
the certainty of real foes. You’d win

if you could see what you were fighting, see
enough to land a blow. But go on, give
it a name—unnamed, its menace will outlive
you, the devil you alone perceive.

Name it what you’ve come to. Name it who
you wish you were. Name its truth untrue.

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Photo by Rene Böhmer on Unsplash

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This poem was generated by the author’s human mind with zero AI / LLM involvement. The audio recording is also completely AI-free.