I am the Beast
And I bleed thorns
I live in a garden
Of briars and weeds
When the moon is black
And the wind screams
Like an animal in pain and fear
Then the shadows come
And taunt my senses
I smell their rot and decay
As they whirl like mud in a pool
As they slide through my ears
And into my brain
Until all I see is black and grey
Then I spread my claws
And I howl in vain
For though I try to tear them out
To loosen the claws they've dug into me
I cannot be free
For they've burrowed inside
Crooning, commanding
For blood, for a feast
They mangle my conscious
Awaken a beast
Until my spirit hides and my eyes glow red
And I'm no longer there
I've hidden, and given
Into rage, and streak from my cave
To stalk steadily
And leap with a roar
Tearing the throat of a bird or a boar
Or a graceful doe, as she struggles to flee
Then, sated with anguish, the shadows leave me
I am the Beast
And I weep blood
Over bodies of creatures
Sodden with tears
More noble than I, for beast I am
Not
But a man cursed with power
In a shadowy form
To kill without thought
Until life has been spilled
Unnatural as metal, bitter as dust
I creep in my garden, dreaming of death
That cannot come