putting down the rope

there are still monsters hiding under the bed of my body
under my skin, between my legs, in my hair
there are cobwebs that i won’t let anyone sweep away
for fear of awakening the creatures down below
you tell me to reach in and pull the monsters out
to be brave and go inside, claws first, and rip them from me
but you don’t understand how sharp their teeth are
how strong they’ve gotten while existing in me
i am not brave enough to reach in on my own