Monster Poem by Fiona Lochhead

I grew up with a monster,
I would give and she would take.
She was noisy and demanding,
So I silenced her with cake.
I kept my monster quiet,
Well feed behind the door.
But her appetite grew stronger-
She always wanted more.
I tried to starve her many times,
A siege- no bold attack.
But her desperation pieced me,
Her wails would bring me back.
So we limped along together,
My monster and me.
She was the weight I carried,
The self I could not free.
And I hated her, I hated her,
I railed and I raged,
With anger as exhausting,
As any war that's waged.
I tried to cut the part that eats
‘Off with her head, '
See if it bleeds.
But each laceration,
Brought little relief.
The shame went deeper
Than pain or grief.
This damage I inflicted,
With casual butchery.
Oh! I wish I could have loved,
The monster in me.