Rage lights a candle when I think of you.
I find that I have built a little shrine
of hatred in my heart.  I can’t undo
your lies, which wormed their way to undermine
my joy at my first job (which I adored)
as lifeguard at a pool.  You got me fired
by claiming I was negligent and bored
when guarding lives.  Presto!--the bosses hired
your girlfriend’s younger sister in my place,
leaving me to drown in shame and hurt,
unable to defend myself, save face,
or work.  How could I prove I was alert?
One small injustice--yet it left its mark.
I light a candle still and curse the dark.

                                 
No Monsters

“Ain’t no monsters out tonight” we sang--
then shrieked and ran, as one kid from our gang
would lunge out of the shadows like a shark
and seize another running through the dark.
Even at five, I knew that “ain’t” was wrong,
but yelled it out with gusto in our song,
giddy at daring night to do its worst.
But soon our mothers called, and we dispersed
back to our homes and dreams, in which we knew
that monsters did exist.  They always do.