Day One
Whispers bounce off my ears
I will not let them exist
We all know they're not here.

Day Two
They tell me things, nice things
But of course, they don't exist
We all know they're not here…

Day Three
I thought I saw someone in my room
But I think I imagined it
Shadows, maybe.
We all know they're not here…right?

Day Four
So they were definitely there today
But I'm sure it was just the gardener
Before that incident in a rose garden
That put him off in California…
…nine years ago.

Day Five
We held a conversation today
They said they were so glad
I decided to say hello.
They were lonely, they said.
Having no one to believe in them.
But of course…
I don't think they're here.

Day Six
They told me that I could help people
It would be easy,
and then they'd stay.
Forever with me.
I got an odd look in the market
But I don't care, because they said
Everyone could see them,
they just don't want to admit it.

Day Seven
I don't want to kill my dog,
but they say if I don't,
all the dogs in the world will die.
So I guess I'll take my old hatchet
and
THUD
THUD
THUMP
I saved all the dogs in the world.
Well…except mine.

Day Eight
I don't want to kill my neighbor
Nice Miz Hannigan
But they say if I don't
All the old ladies in the world will die.
This time I asked,
What if I don't believe you?
And they said, Look around.
You see all the dogs in the world.
And they were right, of course.
So I took my old hatchet
and
THUD
THUD
THUMP
I buried her under the rosebush
with my dog, a proper burial
I said a prayer and everything.
I feel bad that Miz Hanniagan had to go,
but all the other nice old ladies in the world
are safe, thanks to us.

Day Nine
I'm getting scared now,
because they said that I have to kill myself,
or all the nice young men in the world will die.
Only,
I don't think that most of us are all that nice.
So I don't know.
But I don't want to seem selfish,
saving the dogs and the old ladies of the world
at the expense of my dog and Miz Hannigan
but not saving the nice young men of the world
because I don't want to die.
I'll think about it.

Day Ten
They say there's a countdown.
If I don't do it in three days,
All the nice young men of the world
will die anyways. They said,
Do you want that?
And I said,
No, of course not.
And they said,
Good. That's very good.
So I have to think about
how I'm going to go about it.

Day Eleven
A policeman in his blues
came by my house today.
And he said,
Son, do you know anything
about the whereabouts of a…
And with this, he looks at his notepad,
Miz Hannigan?
And I was about to say,
Why yessir, I do.
I killed her to save all the nice old ladies
in the entire world.
And I felt very bad about it,
so I buried her under the rosebush
in my backyard, next to my dog,
with a proper burial and a prayer.
So I did a good thing.
But They said,
He won't understand what you did.
He won't understand.
So I let Them talk instead. And they said,
Why sure, sir, she is my neighbor.
And he said, She is missing.
And They said, Well that's a shame.
Wherever did she go?
And the cop said,
That's what we're trying to figure out.
Have a nice day, son.
He tipped his hat, and left.

Day Twelve
We talked today about
how I'm going to save all the nice young men.
They had good suggestions, of course.
They said if I wanted, I could leave a note
so everyone would know how selfless I was.
I think that is a good idea.
They said,
You could sit in the tub
and the razor you use to shave,
and just unzip your arms
from wrist to shoulder
and it wouldn't hurt a bit.
But it sure sounded like it would.
So They suggested,
take a rope and hang from the ceiling,
it's very quick and not messy.
But it sounded like it would take a while.
So I suggested sleeping pills,
only they said those sometimes don't work.
And if they didn't work,
all the nice young men would die, and
wouldn’t that be a crying shame?

Day Thirteen
I bought a gun this morning.
Don't tell Them, but I think
I'm going to blow them out of my head
because they're getting scary.
They talk to each other when I sleep,
Like I can't hear them or something.
But I can.
I want them out.
I had to look up on the internet
how to use a gun.
But I have it figured out now,
and at this close range,
you sure can't miss.
And it goes
CLICK
BANG
THUD
THUMP
And I have saved all the nice young men
in the entire world.
They are gone.
We all know they're not here.