THE BEAST IN US

We each were given a beast in us

In some it’s more pronounced

But it lives side by side with heavenly beatitude

Why was it given, why indeed

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In Heaven it is never seen

Remembered maybe but discounted

But there’s more

There is a reason

Life begins as beast in all

First to fend off enemies

And then to find a good next meal

And finally to be put down

And hidden

Unless it’s flaunted publicly

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And it remains

We are aware of it in secret bursts

We nod and watch it pass away

And then it surfaces

Like rain

Or wind

Or any other

Natural event

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Of course it’s all in how it’s seen

We know in war zones it’s extreme

And we’re aware of how it self destructs

With selves who choose

To leave this plane

Unable to accept this sort of rain

It’s part of life

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It’s part of life

It will be even when

We’ve cancelled war

And nukes and such

We will not doff our animal barbarity

No matter how we try to be at peace

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And do not try to parse another’s performance

We did that once and met with mixed results

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We teeter

In this time

As we evolve

To properly put beastliness

Away

It will not disappear

And we cannot escape it

Lodged so deep within

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It is in facing it

We find a way

And if we come

To speak of it we say

“We nod

We offer

Our respects

While welcoming

Another day”