Mind as an Enemy

The grass is green

The rain has fallen

Little boy Jack has come quickly on

Down the street he tumbles

His back turned toward the distant rumble

Quickly he dashes inside

Of a little one-story cabin just 6 feet high

He slams the shutters shut and bolts the door

Thinking that could stop the war just above his floor

He screams to himself as he claws at his head

Trying to get rid of the demons he thought he’d fled

For those demons weren’t outside his door

They’d made themselves comfortable in little boy Jack’s second floor

Tears fell from his face as he found he couldn’t escape the demon inside

All he could do was lie down and let his mind die

I’m sure you know the demon of which I speak

The demon of perfection

The one that haunts how we think

The one that laughs at us when we’ve fallen

The one that sees how good you’ve become

And, instead of congratulating, says look how little you’ve done

I can’t believe you didn’t do more

You should’ve been better.

You should’ve been more.

But don’t let this noise distract you

For everyone, at one point or another, let’s their demons have a say

You are not alone in wanting to be perfect

You are not alone in wanting to be better

But please, just slow down

Life is a marathon

And you will never finish if you run aimlessly around