humanity has
huddled around various
light sources
to whisper tales of
the monsters lurking
in the darkness
since the first rudimentary
paintings scrawled upon
the caves they hid in

the more they evolved
the more clever the ways
they distilled the
horrors that encompass
humanity itself into
a mythology of gods
to explain away
how the true monsters
are they themselves

blaming demons for
the actions of man
before understanding
the fundamental breakdown
of chemically altered
flesh bags of barely
contained electrical impulses
a confusion of perceptions
in a madness of will

spinning sloppy parables
of lessons unlearned
rich histories of
fictional heroes with
virtuous hearts to stand
alone against evil
willing to sacrifice
themselves in the hope
mankind could become better

bastardizing faith
as a means to control
the natural inclinations
of an apex species
with a callous disregard
for anything beyond the
myopic scope of
survival mechanisms swirling
in a slurry of selfishness

sketching monsters in
the place of the darkness
lurking in reflections
a distortion of truth
to placate the whims
hovering at the edges
a denial of the inherited
instincts whispering
in the compulsions of life