His Demons

He sees the demons
and tells us about them-
hanging on his shoulders
like Jack the Ripper's cloak.
They torture and mock him
and laugh in his face
because they know we can't see.
We can't stop questioning
whether he's lost his mind
or if he can really see
the dead,
walking among us,
tickling the backs of our necks,
and whispering evil
in our ears.
He sees them and hears them
and even calls them by name.
Jacob, Jedediah, Elizabeth...
how could such biblical names
be the root of such evil?
He says he's not crazy
and that they're really there.
He even shook their hands once.
Civil war soldiers
and Native American chiefs.
He says I'll inherit the curse
and he wants me to be prepared.
But how do you prep yourself
to go insane?