You gave this madness a name,
called it demon,
called it enemy.

You learned its patterns,
watched how it fastens itself
to your longing and fear.

You trained yourself to recognize it,
to meet it head-on.
We tell ourselves this is courage.
We take pride in the battle.

But beneath this familiar darkness
is the deeper source—
the quiet current that feeds the beast.

A thousand unnamed thoughts
moving through us as we sleep,
as we walk this world
half-seeing,
half-awake.

The moments between moments—
this is where we are formed.
The slow gathering
of a thousand small storms.

The unnoticed ones.
The micro-judgments
of expectation.

Our reflex to classify,
to categorize,
to name—
as if knowing were mastery.

Go beyond this

All of this has been said before.

But to honor them,
you must recognize them

as the very ones
who have come
to unmake you.