Getting Better Poem by Mary Wright

I've always known of your disguise
And though I speak to you
Does not mean that you are real
But I would never disrespect you
By denying your presence or the
Power you have held over me
The choices, the really bad ones
Were mine to bear, not this empowered demon
Sitting on my shoulder

The things you have pilfered through the years
The unfairness of the world
I blamed all this on you
What was I thinking when I let
You steal my hopes and dreams

I know you are there
So hold out your strongest arm
and I will cut it off and turn it to mulch
I will put you under my window sill
And if I hear you tapping there
I will not allow such things
To have power over me

I have always recognized
Your magnificence
Swaying in the wind
Pilfering in the bitter breeze
Growing larger under the hot sun
Shifting under the moon lit nights
But now I take charge gangly tree
I will cut you down and use
Your branches as wood for fire
And silence you once and for all.