Beasts

There are many kinds of beasts
Not all who hiss and growl,
I hope this helps you decide
Which beasts are on the prowl -

First is the beast within your mind,
the one who holds your sleep,
the one who lies under your bed
crawls from the darkness and the deep -

it takes your thoughts and alters them,
it plays havoc on your brain,
once you think you know what’s true,
it makes you think again.

Next is the beast on legs of four,
with hackles or a mane,
a beast whose only living purpose
is to bring a world of pain -

this beast comes in many shapes
and forms, its singular desire,
is to breathe upon your petty world
its all-consuming fire.

Next is the beast upon the air,
it flows from breath to breath,
Microscopic and unseen,
it brings untimely death -

this beast it drinks of your own blood,
it’s bloody purpose known,
it fills your body and your soul,
and takes them for its own.

Next is the beast within your heart,
its form is never seen,
when you apply your logic to the world,
it sits squarely in between -

though it’s sightless and unspoken,
it can tear your world apart,
it affects the hopeful, and the good,
it affects the lonely of the heart.

Next is the beast I saved for last,
the beast of humankind,
though it has both thumbs and eyes
perhaps it’s truly blind -

for there is no beast that kills its own
that has a thoughtful mind,
what kind of beast would wage a war,
upon its kindred kind?