Yāoguài 妖怪 (“Monster”)

What did you create—when you created me?
I lurk in the dark, anger like lava
bubbling
in the crater of my chest.

Peel back my lips to see
needle-sharp teeth,
bloodstained and hungry for
despair.

I will eat you whole.
Terrorize your insides
until you hate me
the way I hate me.

Why did you make me like this?
With those festering parts of your soul
that rot and infect—
why give them to me?

Now our burden to carry,
but you do not carry yours
so I persevere
I suffer
alone.

Do you see the wild
in the whites of my eyes?
Like eggs in a pan too hot,
they crisp and burn at the edges.

I blink,
and the tears burn like hot oil
as they track down my face.
I did not ask for this.

– AJ Wilcox