the beast

in a cave not so far away - 

in a land of emerald green earth

baby blue skies

and sapphire seas - 

there dwells a docile beast

he has been dormant for quite some time

dormant

but not sleeping

and not dead

the beast lays in the cave

in wait

pining away

hoping that fate and destiny

will work in his favor

his stomach grumbles

with the sound of a thousand lions

a thousand lions roaring pleadingly

begging to be fed

but he refuses to eat

because nothing he is offered

satisfies his appetite

nothing is to his taste

and so

slowly but surely

he begins to starve

the beast is on the brink of death

emaciated

deprived of what he sees other like him having

he feels helpless

almost ready to capitulate

relinquish himself to death

the beast is within me

and it is i who starves him

for months i scurry here and there

searching for something to feed the beast

but he accepts nothing

one day i take a walk in the park

desolate

haunted by the roar of the beast's belly

i crumble

i lay myself by the pond

looking up at the sky

searching for an answer among the clouds

all i see is fluff

white fluff

a face appears above me

soft smile

sharp nose

crinkles that form around his eyes when he grins

his eyes sparkle

they radiate a strange feeling

a feeling that channels into me

as he peers down into my face

i am overcome with emotion

something wells up within me

and i realize

for the first time

the beast has stopped making noise

i cannot believe the silence

i am still on the ground

and i can see the boy's lips moving

but i can't hear him - 

i'm too busy listening for the beast

but i can't hear him either

- he is gone

the boy with the face helps me up

i stumble into his arms

we smile sheepishly at each other

we walk off together

finally, i have fed the beast its fill.

Reviews

[Shep]

Very good story poem. Nicely done.