'Little Monsters', by Bruce Mcrae
The little monsters of the mind
and all their attending grievances,
worry pacing the battlements,
concern scratching at window glass,
regret a voice under the bed,
its constant diatribe of doubt and debt
setting fire to memory’s kitchen.
The monsters we feed red meat and roses,
head cheese and the feet of chickens,
that are never sated, never satisfied.
Their homespun demonology.
Their household horrors.
Their godless catechism.
Not to mention death-by-politics.
The monsters under your skin,
scrawling deviltry’s testament.
Monsters of gut and viscera,
their bellicose litany and unholy sacraments.
The beautiful monsters, zoftig and svelte.
Who lure you to the precipice
while spurning caution and care.
Look how wonderful your fear is, they goad.
Now step over the edge.
Bruce McRae, a Canadian musician, is a multiple Pushcart nominee with poems published in hundreds of magazines such as Poetry, Rattle and the North American Review. The winner of the 2020 Libretto prize and author of four poetry collections and seven chapbooks, his next book, 'Boxing In The Bone Orchard' is coming out in the Spring of 2025 via Frontenac House.
Photography by NEONROOKIE SAUERLAND