Jade Holt's poem is about hiding a private struggle behind a cheerful face. The speaker says her smile is "war paint," something put on before a fight, and the real conflict happens behind her eyes. On one side are the "demons," which the poem calls the tyrannical rulers of her thoughts. On the other side is the speaker herself. She describes it as a tug of war over her mind, with no end in sight.
The feeling begins as exhaustion. She is "sick of being beaten down" and tired of being haunted at night. Then the tone shifts. She decides that today she will rise up and challenge these enemies. She admits the risk, since losing could mean losing her sanity, but she chooses to believe that trying can drive them out. The mood moves from weary and tense to determined, and it ends on a hopeful note: "I will live again."