Not to be confused with the benevolent monster of the newly-released film and book. This is a monster of another class and color.

A Monster Calls
By John Herlihy

A monster calls,
But I do not respond.
The frightening voice enthralls,
But I feel as though forewarned.
Down the ages and across the hours,
The fiend has shown emboldened powers.
A shadowy presence stalks within,
Bringing with it feelings of chagrin.
I hear its sound, but I do not listen,
I only strive my indifference to christen.
Truth to tell, I confess I feel scared stiff,
When the evil force awakens, I get a whiff,
Of what it means to be truly afraid,
To uncover things of which I am not made.

The terrifying fiend lies within,
Securely hidden far beneath the skin.
Our duality walks along a sharp knife,
Within us lie forces of good and evil rife.
We think we are free in whatever we chose,
With no fear of consequences for what we lose.
What use is the good of being completely free,
When in choosing the wrong thing we do not see,
That unlimited freedom comes with a steep price,
If we lose our souls when the clock strikes thrice.
The midnight hour will have long since gone by;
We cannot gather up the pieces even if we try.
Our hearts will now be carved with a ragged edge;
The monster gladly calls when we offer our pledge.