My Human Disguise.
The character knew he could not kill
But only quell the demon within,
Only drive his foot into its throat
And not let up even when it grew still,
As he knew that was its rictus of sin
(Less potent when, silenced, no gloat
Assailed the air like a black-winged kite,
Its head and eyes deceptively white
Circling harvested fields, hunting soul),
His leg beyond strength, aging to stone,
A numbness, cold as unfired coal,
The marrow seeping from his ankle bone,
He thinks he could surrender and free
The evil that, laughing, wouldn’t flee.
