Are We Monsters? Poem by Michael Garrett

Are we monsters?
To be pursued perpetually to the margins of society?
Deformed from the scars of neglect and painful experiences.
Oozing the bile of past traumas, reanimated and assembled from various salvaged parts of ourselves.
Evincing fangs of truth and honesty,
Ghosts in the midst of humanity hoping to go unseen, flitting from
Hypocrites who have anointed themselves the Van Helsings of creation-
Killing our souls with stakes of hate and silver bullets of malice,
We lurch through this world, hand in hand like Frankenstein's monster and bride,
Looked upon in horror, reviled and eluded.
Retreat to our tomb and relish the night,
indulge ourselves like Vampires.
Sucking the essence from life, filling our mouths, vomiting integrity.
Like werewolves, we transform when the moon is right,
and the light of loathing shines on those we nurture and protect.
The Ogre and Banshee, with the strength to persevere and inculcate fear,
Wailing from the confines of our haunting grounds,
Waking the dead and the dying within ourselves.
Staggering like Zombies, pacified by each other, a horde
devouring the imbecilic thoughts and brains that engulf us.
Wrapping ourselves in the protective strips of love and commitment.
We become Mummies.
Filled with the ancient wisdom of the unaltered truth of community.
Forgotten in this modern society of witch hunters and monster killers.
Whom label us Ghouls, our offspring Goblins,
And muster the masses to rise up against us.
They light their gossip torches and cowardly assemble to propagate against us.
If we be monsters, those whom love pure and seek harmony,
What are those that hunt us?