What Lies Between the Lines // A Poetry Book

|11: Real Demons|

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I talked to an online stranger years ago,

and I remember that I was so moved by his words and ideas

my memory about our conversation was blurry:

We talked about different entities

that are possibly roaming around the world

We talked about demons,

he wondered if they really were real

I told him that if he believes that there's a heaven,

then he should believe that there is hell as well,

thus, believing that demons would be real

He asked me if I had ever seen a demon,

and I said no

He disagrees that demons look like devils,
he didn't believe that they had horns or sharp teeth,

he believes that demons could look like anything--

and anyone

There was no proof that demons look in a certain way at all,

People only wrote them being monstrous and beastly,
but those were only for entertaining purposes, like books

and that opened my mind about it

He told me that he'd seen a demon behind his abusive father's eyes,

He saw demons on the TV, who went to jail

He saw demons behind the eyes of dictators in picture books,

and he told me that maybe the shadows

that creep on his window at night were also demons

and so he asked me again,

"Have you seen a demon?"

"Yes, yes I have," I replied.

This is for you, Devon,

you were only fourteen years old,

but you are one of a kind

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