• I
    Half a beast; unpure, ugly.
    Rubbing against my pure side –
    Tainting it. Bleeding it.

    Both sides open and I suffer.
    Emotional, physical, deadly,
    I fall. If I’m only half a beast, which half –

    The left rib or right hip?
    Both are agonized by its presence.
    Its instincts recreate me

    In its image. Miracle worker,
    Send me to the stars. Breathless
    In the light of hope; the beast strikes.

    The beast in us kills all life.
    With no target, we die.
    We all die. Live for the resurrection.

    II
    Dissect me. These are my
    Eyes – half blind. Can I see
    You? Take my eyes. Heal them.

    Dissect me. Here are my ears.
    Half-deaf. Can you heal them?
    You’ve tried before. Three seconds

    Of sound, of sight, of love. I am
    Impaired. No one loves the
    Freak. Why should you

    Love an ugly beast?
    Drink in my sorrow as
    I embrace you. Get rid

    Of all of it. Just
    Show me love. Show me truth. I can still feel.
    Dissect me.

    III
    I may be half-beast,
    I may be half-impaired,
    I may be half-able to love.

    He tore me in two,
    Broke me down. He stripped me
    Of all trust, all burdens.

    Can you believe in me?
    I’ve lost what I held dear,
    Chanting rhythmless melodies.

    The little innocent girl? She
    Died along with the beast;
    I am now nothing.

    IV
    The serpent gone, now I’m
    Completely empty. Bloodstains
    Smell like rusty metal.

    Save me. I want
    To be whole. I can’t change me;
    Don’t let me be cut in half.