In My Head

I live inside your head

No way out, I’ve ever seen

Constant ideas and images bombarding

Images like on the silver screen

A litany of films, short and long

Always in motion and alert

Absorbing data that might be needed

I’m with you day and night

Secured safely from harm here, shielded

Protected from being broken or taken

Breaking me, an impossible contemplation

Stealing or taking me away

More criminal than murder

But I am safeguarded night and day

Even though I’ve heard it happens

Leaving my cozy place and life

Would destroy me, to my death

But I’ll brawl anything and everything

To remain, until my dying breath

I’ll never fully leave you

In daytime I seem to flourish

When tediously working or bored

When nighttime comes each night

Is when I thrive and soar

I’m able to create freely

My gift is telling elaborate stories

Sometimes I give just snippets of a tale

Or confuse and befuddle you for fun

Working within a tiny scope or much grander scale

But always welcome or sought after

Not alone inside my head

There is another residing here

Not pretty, sweet, or joyous like me

He’s scary, angry and mean, someone to fear

We tend to avoid each other at all costs

He is a bully and commands a room

But no one likes him to come

Still, sometimes he invites himself

After his visits, we are left numb

Confused and often frightened of his next

I don’t know what he does during the day

He tends to come out in the evening

His motives unclear and aim dubious at best

Disappearing for days, weeks, or months without reasoning

His returns are unpredictable, unwanted, not welcome

I and my nefarious cohort

may not see eye to eye or relate

But we’re both useful and needed, two sides of one coin

You can’t choose only one, and the other one negate

We are two parts of one whole

Both of our talents mostly go ignored

Though his are far more memorable

I’m just a passing wisp of thoughts and hopes

And he is strong and imposingly miserable

Either way neither of us is leaving

If ever comes a day that I am taken

Or beat down and out of commission

My nemesis will surely thrive in his control

He will take root and not leave unless driven

So I hang on through thick and thin

You may lose love, and I’ll remind you,

You may be chained, and I will free you,

You may lose hope,

I will lead her here to find you

I’ll never leave or abandon you

In daytime,

will help your mind wander

To wondrous vignettes and desires

The night I won’t waste or squander

I’ll give you peace and comfort

I’ll make you want to return to the room

If you should depart for a short time

I’ll leave you lingering thoughts all day

Of the beautiful, lovely and sublime

I feed your hopes and emotions

While my partner may still return

And make your day or night dismal

My skills will always trump his threats

We are opposites and yet equal

One good, one bad, and part of you

Life doesn’t exist without us both

We’re in your head, fueled by your heart

Your mind knows us intimately

Understands we cannot be apart

Joined to you and each other, we are dream and nightmare