Death Metal Lullaby

At night  
I hear death metal  
Playing faintly in the distance  
Maybe from the downstairs apartment  
Or maybe from the deepest expanse  
Of my ignored existence  
 
I’ve never been a death metal  
Type of gal  
I’ve always sought out smooth  
Rhythms keeping their balanced tempos  
And safe chords    
 
Never been one to step on someone’s toes  
Or argue  
Or stand up for myself  
A people pleasing monster  
Denying only myself
 
So maybe at night  
Is when my body rebels  
Screaming into the night  
& standing up for itself  
 
While my downstairs neighbor,
Madame Linda,
Has long drifted off  
To her contemporary tunes  
 
I guess we all consciously  
surround ourselves  
With things that we are not  
To mute what rages inside of us  
 
Until the deep night brings  
My death metal lullaby  
Trying to reclaim the given away  
Self that hangs, crucified.