The Monster

[Elisheva Halle]

The voice of the Monster

So close, and yet so far

Success within my reach

And yet

You don’t deserve this

You’re not good enough

What makes you think you can have it all

 

You’ll fail

That’s for sure

You’re grabbing for too much

You think you’re talented?

Think again my friend

You have no special touch

 

You’ll always be a failure

Just accept that won’t you now?

Just live in your quiet corner

So close and yet so far

 

NO, I won’t listen to you

Let me be

You’ve come again to mock me

How is it I don’t see?

It’s a trap, I know

How is it that I fell for you again?

I thought I did away with you yesterday

My pathetic, annoying friend

 

So close and yet so far

Is it real

This voice

I just must know

I strip him of his mask

And behold

An illusion

Nothing’s there

Everything’s bright and well

 

You’re valuable

You’re worth it

You can do anything you set to try

Believe in yourself

Don’t give up now

Just bid that monster good-bye

 

 

[Brocha]

Ohhh, this is empowering.

[HappiWriter]

I double that!!

I have that monster in my head all the time…

[Sury]

Whoa! It’s fantastic! We all have that monster in our minds – yetzer hora…

I love how you end off.

[Esther]

Is that part of what is killing me?  Thanks a million for putting it into words…

[Elisheva Halle]

Thank you all! Yes, Sury, you are right, I’m describing the Yetzer Hara, but he got so tricky these days, acting all self righteous like he’s trying to improve our avodas Hashem…the reason why I chose to write ‘monster’ instead of Yetzer Hara is because for many people, their idea of the Yetzer Hara is the same as when they learned it in elementary school…they don’t realize just how powerful the yetzer hara really is and that it’s real 

[Elisheva Halle]

And yes, Esther, sadly, many people don’t recognize that negative voice in their head as a monster…the yetzer hara is dressing up like the yetzer tov, pretending that dwelling on our mistakes and failures and putting ourselves down is the way to improve. Of course, it’s all just a trap…  this is why I wrote this poem…I realized that my anxiety I felt over something in my life was a total illusion created by the yetzer hara, who was trying to make me feel less than and not worthy