The Beast Within

The Beast Within

Festering and seething in the dark I wait.

A hidden debilitation bringing decay and misery.

Your physical and mental degradation nurtures me.

Crawling and Itching between the filaments.

My calling cards, like leaf ants

invading your airways

Wheezing, coughing and choking;

These are the tunes I play.

Like a poorly tuned set of bagpipes.

I’m caged and all alone down here.

The beast within.

I rule over you.

Beware. If I catch you, I will rake your life.

I will constrict as a boa would its prey.

I will rip all hope out of your throat.

We are alone, you and I.

An unwanted symbiotic relationship

Yet I am needed, in part, for life.

You search for an unobtainable cure.

Yet, suppression of my fortitude is futile.

Slithering from place to place I avoid detection

Friends and family can only watch with dismay

Your tolerance and moods fluctuate with the

ebbs and flows of my life like a malignant tide.

Sooner or later you’ll slip up, and I’ll be there.

A lightning strike darkening your world

I’ll lie here, in the dark.

© Trevor Flanagan