How to Raise a Monster Within You?

by Amirah Al Wassif

I am raising a massive monster inside my throat,
and every time I feed it spinach, it craves more meat.
I used to think it was vegetarian.
Here it is: the monster is moving inside me now.
It is gnawing at me, piece by piece.
I tell it, “Calm down,”
but it wants to watch Netflix.
I tell it, “Calm down,”
but it wants to reach the summit of Everest.
I tell it, “Calm down,”
but it wants to go on a romantic date with a butterfly.
My aunt advises me to read it a spell.
I pretend to agree with her, then I run away to smoke a cigarette with it.
Here it is, laughing again.
Its crimson teeth hide the Tower of Babel within.
My mother asks me to clip its wings.
I nod my head and then plant a new rose between its eyes.
The neighbors complain about its voice.
I tell them a lie: I punished it yesterday.
The sheikh says in the Friday sermon that it should be stoned.
I run towards the farthest Silver Star to dip my soul into it.