Human Nature

Wolves know who they are and act
Accordingly, and cattle, too, but we
Are bifurcated beasts. The most,
Those most like you, my friend,
Are quite content to bow their empty
Heads and graze upon the fields.
They're slow to move. They cannot
Think. The world, as they see it,
Must remain as it always has been,
And, if it doesn't, they are filled
With panic, and they run. The few,
Like me, are vicious, hungry, lurking
On the margins of your placid pastures,
Set to strike. The world cannot stay
The same if we're to live. We live
On blood, and, if you run, we'll chase
You, nipping at your tendons. When
You're down, we will tear your flesh
To feed, and, howling in the night,
We'll ask the arching, unforgiving sky,
Which of us is truly human? It won't
Say it knows.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 13 times
Written on 2011-11-14 at 12:25

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