Welcome Monstrosity by mythsteps published on 2024-02-18T16:31:34Z WELCOME, MONSTROSITY While walking in the moonlight through a snowy field in a dream one night I suddenly saw the monolithic silhouette of a giant standing in my path. A star sparkled on the tip of a spear aimed straight at my heart. So I turned to run and awoke in my soft bed. Though relieved I felt limp with loss— I’d been told we can only defeat the shadowy threats of our dreams by facing them head-on. Hoping for solace I confessed my failure to the wise one who then said: as long as you remember the shame you now feel you’ll fight to overcome your weakness. And so after struggling many days with the disgrace of my retreat I felt such a lift when the giant stood before me again— I opened my arms and yelled: welcome, monstrosity! And actually felt disappointed when the shadow vanished the next instant. The field of snow shone in moonlight but instead of continuing on the path I followed the trail of a little chipmunk into the dark woods nearby. The next day I returned to the wise one to crow of my success. Yes, she said better to face the shadows within before we take on the giant shadows of our world-- hard to win when you’re waging war on two fronts. Genre poetry