Beast

It prowls inside of him,
Lurking in the darkest places
And hunting his heart.
Rakes through his stomach
And claws up his throat
When he thinks he's okay.
I watch it turn him inside out,
Into some thorny, unstable peril,
And there is nothing I can do.
He tells me the beast is growing,
Consuming more of him with every hour,
Until one day it will take him entirely.
I sit helplessly and wait
For his anguish to pass,
Knowing it never will
But still hoping.
I watch him sew an ugly grin
Onto his stitched and frozen face,
Walk a hundred tortured miles
In his flayed and charred skin.
I lose my voice calling out to him,
Trying to tell him that I am here,
But the beast blocks his ears,
Whispers menacing needles in his head.
His shouting and keening shatters my heart,
The pieces falling away like glass,
And I beg and plead to know what's wrong.
He looks up at me
Past the flood in his ghostly eyes
And breathes, "The beast is me."