You used to believe in things

You used to believe in things:
Santa Claus,
the Tooth Fairy,
love,
life after love,
little people who lived in your TV and waited for you to turn it on so they could entertain you.
You believed that somehow you had been born without your parents having sex
(because who wants to think about that?).

You used to believe in yourself,
and, of course, the monster under your bed.

You grew up, and now
you believe in different things:
democracy,
that hard work reaps rewards,
that the Chicago Cubs will one day win the world series again,
that Melissa Layman is a cunt
(because why else would she have left you? And for your boss, of all people?).

You believe that it’s your boss’s life goal
to make you miserable.

Listen, your boss doesn’t give a shit about you.

The monster under your bed, on the other hand,
cried at first,
your lack of belief voiding him of purpose.

But now he is laughing, realizing
he has the upper hand.

And his name is Reggie, goddammit,
which you would have known
if you’d ever had the decency to talk to him.

 
You look beautiful when you sleep

You look beautiful when you sleep,
like an angel—
a fallen angel, naturally,
but an angel nonetheless.

You look beautiful when you sleep,
your lips curved softly
in a shadow of a smile.
Delicate strands of hair
fall across your eyes
like the delicate strokes of an artist’s brush.

You are art.

You look beautiful when you sleep,
and I watch you
from the foot of your bed,
where I am crouched in the sinister shadows
of the delicious darkness.

Shh, don’t be afraid!

Please, don’t be afraid;
you look ugly when you’re afraid.

————

Sarah J. Campbell is a Houston-based writer with a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. She grew up in Tanzania (yes, she rode an elephant to school, had a pet lion, and knows that one person you know in Zimbabwe) before moving to Germany, where she completed high school. She has lived in Houston for 6 years now and is sick of the mosquitoes and the lack of fall, but the city has grown on her and she can’t seem to escape. You can follow her on Twitter @mzungu_mfupi. She’s funny sometimes maybe.