Beast

A small town legend

one known for ages

but it's not sung in songs

or told in fable pages.

He doesn't want fame

but to stay unseen.

And yet it was me

who brought him from a dream.

A flash in the dark

revealed his feared face.

His flared nostrils

his goat fur waist.

It was but a moment

but now the box is unlocked.

My brain sizzled and burned

my heart exhausted with shock.

Some utter his tale

with an eye on their back.

If he were to hear

then he would attack.

Without a face to scream

the resilient will pay,

he takes no prisoners

even their lovers will pay.

This I know: see his eyes,

and never again see light.

Hear his deep growl,

be immersed in deaf fright.

Dare to speak his name,

lips will be strung tight.

This is the devil's curse,

for those who seek the lord of night.

So why would I risk

my one and only life?

He haunts my mind

each thought beneath his knife.

No longer a hold on myself

I ventured to change my fate

deep in the dark woods,

where I thought he'd wait.

Visions swirl and pool

all that I love taken.

His gurgles surge through me.

Could I be mistaken?

Surely this dream master

this Lovecraftian being

has not gained the key to my mind

how else can I explain what I'm seeing?

I leave without triumph

I've been driven insane

my drink likely spiked

with salvia and wolfsbane.

This is what he wants

for me to question what I am.

The pieces are becoming bound

This is what it means to be damned.

The visions continue

the nightmares take their claim

my mother's skin filleted

my brother twisted and maimed.

But I wake in my bed

see them at the breakfast table

he's gotten all that he desired.

I've been knocked unstable.

The clarity is overwhelming

it came to me unexpecting

a break from his torture

leaves my cognition reflecting.

There's only one solution

to win this wicked game.

To trick death itself

to train the wild one tame.

I am not arrogant,

tricking the king of shadows.

It is no act of heroism

but there's something to propose.

He works the cogs of myself,

my chords he composed

dangling this before him

may allow me to avoid necrose.

The clock is ticking

and I make my way

within the cabinet of myself

knowing what I'll say.

He thrives on mystery

he clasps his control.

If I take it all away

I could depart with my soul.

"Hello," I murmur to the dark.

No response, but there's a shift,

a restlessness from within,

my mind's boat adrift.

"Take me," I permit

and I know he is perplexed.

His captives would normally beg.

I'm ready for what's next.

"Kill me," I whisper to the walls,

I've taken the tool from him.

"Kill me," I say so he'll hear,

the resistance brings the grim.

"Kill me!" I scream into the abyss

my cold forehead pulses.

"Kill me," I breathe once more.

I've succumbed to my indulges.

It is safe to exhale

one final time to tell

this is where it ended

and I didn't need to yell.

The next word to pass

my dry shaking lips

was all that needed to be said

to the one who avoids worship.

To say his name

to give light to his face

and then it's all over

my fate to embrace.

"Beast," the final word

to lose it all without a trace

shut within the berserker's sanctum

only too late did I see the waste.

Never again will I speak

they all think I can't hear

the curse it that I can see

others brought down in fear.

Sometimes my mind quiets

and he remains my only friend

words clash against the bars

and I lie in wait for the end.