Above the Underneath

Above the Underneath

I wait where the nerves twitch, where your breath skips,
taste your pulse when you lie and say you’re fine.
You dress me in excuses, lock the door and hope,
but I’ve lived in your marrow longer than hope.

You keep your face blank, but your dreams betray.
Every scream you swallow just sharpens my blade.
I am the hunger under your calm,
the itch in your smile, the tremor in your palm.

You can run, you can act, but you know I’m awake.
I feed on your panic, on every mistake.
You fill your days with rules, try to keep me chained,
but I slip through the cracks. I love your pain.

I listen to your heartbeat, thick and slow,
count every lie you pretend I don’t know.
You hand me the wheel when the edge feels near.
I steer you to chaos and feed on the fear.

You ache for release but you’ll never confess.
You want to be saved but you settle for less.
You try to be gentle, try to forget,
but I love you best when you’re drowning in sweat.

You’re never alone, never just you—
I am the shadow that you can’t undo.
I’ve got claws, I’ve got keys—
I live for the night when you let me free.

One day you’ll stop fighting, you’ll turn out the light.
Let me wear your face, let me take what’s mine.
I am the ache, I am the scream,
the truth in your blood, the end of your dream.

You built this cage, you forged this chain,
but I am the lock, and I know your shame.

In the end, you are nothing but me.
No mask, no hope, just the dark and the teeth.
I am the hunger.
I am underneath.
I’ve got claws.
And I’ve got you.