Dragon Poem by Mark Heathcote

We're all monsters here,
How do we live in our animal minds?
Bent and twisted, subpoenaed to lie
Tell the truth all the truth until it
Has nowhere, no place counterfeit it can hide?

And dear, you can't bear another to look,
To look you in the eye
Especially if that someone is me:
The one who knows your every dark secret place
Show your teeth, grin and smile.

There is fresh blood beneath your fingernails
It's a vile thin veneer a see-through veil
Grinning back at you; yourself-reflection.
The one you know is a real monster
It is the animal you keep in the basement cellar.

That roars like a cat to breathe its self-back
Back into your heart at nightfall
That you've pretended to yourself isn't really - there.
But now you've only gone and set it free
We're all monsters here, 'love' don't you agree?