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This was a great read the imagery was pronounce and the emotions came across clearly. The line about having monsters under the bed but this being different highlights every feeling expressed afterwards.

Thanks for clarifying!! I've heard of Ivan Pavlov but the ringing its bell thing completely went over my head for a bit :') Kudos to you

1. Line 6 is "Something meant to train" not "something meant to be trained", this line is saying that the monster's purpose is to train
2. The "It rings its bell again" and "Trains me like a Pavlov dog" is a reference to [Ivan Pavlov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov), he trained dogs to salivate when they heard a bell by ringing a bell every time he gave them food. So the monster ringing it's bell is a metaphor for the monster reminding me of it's presence.

I like how the poem catches you off guard. Lines 5 and 6 make you feel the danger and power of the mentioned 'monster'. It's like the poet understands the potential of the 'monster', and it feels like a thing that could be trained. Line 7 contradicts this, making you feel like you're the prey, shows the effect the 'monster' has over you. I like the use of "Pavlov Dog".

We don't know what this 'monster' is, or even if it's a monster at all. And it feels like the speaker doesn't, either. Is it a construct of your mind, or is there really something? The repetition really coveys the uncertainity

I don't really understand what you mean by "It rings its bell again". Does the monster carry a bell meant to frighten you? To alert you of its presence? Or is the bell a metaphor for the startling, shrill alertness you feel in the otherwise quiet of darkness? Is it a metaphor for the resonating fear you feel? I think you should expand more on this, or hint at it in the former lines.

Lines 3 and 4 were meant to show that this monster was a real thing and more than a figmentation of the narrator's imagination, as monsters under the bed are usually things conjured up by kids imagination

I've had monsters under the bed before but this....  tells me that previous monsters/beasts have been conquered before. The line right after stating that this is something different is a little confusing as to exactly what makes this darkness any different from any other previous darkness. Overall as a reader, it feels like the poem is talking about nightmares when going to sleep, I love the last two lines, when you think you're fine from this darkness/nightmare, ringing its bell again, kind of like an alarm clock in the morning restarting the cycle.

There’s something in the darkness of my room

it knows something I don’t

I’ve had monsters under the bed before but this..

this is something different, something real, something alive…

Something powerful

Something meant to train

It trains me, trains me to be frightened, scared, afraid

Trains me like a Pavlov Dog

Everytime I think I’m fine…

It rings its bell again

&amp;#x200B;

Feedback 1: [https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/y9cbz7/mindfuck/it5gb87/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/y9cbz7/mindfuck/it5gb87/?context=3)

Feedback 2: [https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/y8lxlb/barely\_mistreating\_you/it5i59g/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/y8lxlb/barely_mistreating_you/it5i59g/?context=3)

In the Darkness of my Room