The prisons team with people who’ve been
Crushed by what bears down on me:
The weight of savage inclinations. One
May cling with aching fingers to that shell,
Civility, to try to show that he is human,
Not another soulless beast, but such shells
All too often break, and even one whose
Face is shaven, and whose hands are soft
And clean, can find himself tugged downward,
Backward, to a lesser being’s state. Alas,
This is where Chloe's brought me. Affianced
To my friend, Richard, who I’ve known for
Thirty years, and cherished as a fine
Companion and a very learned man,
This Chloe’s filled me full of lust. When
She and Richard come to visit, I can’t hear
What he is saying. All I do is gaze at her,
And think of ways of killing him, and taking
Her to bed.