The Beast Poem by Bill Simmons

In the darkness I could not see
Although my eyes they strained in vain
What it is I could not know
But it's presence, I knew it came

I could hear the plundered footsteps
Step by step among the leaves
Ever closer it was coming
When it stopped, I would not breath

As I held my breath then quiet
I could hear it as it breathed
And too, just a crinkle
Of it's weight among the leaves

My heart began to race
The adrenaline began to flow
Never before had I felt such
For such a beast I could not know

Again it would take a step
Then relieved, I would breath
And in the darkness I was sure
I even once felt it's breath on me

What is this beast that has come
That has lured me to this tree
That in the darkness, I chose to run
Can it sense the fear in me

My mother told me when I was young
And now I see with my own eyes
Sometimes it is the way of life
Life and death, it coincides

Now the sun breaks through the leaves
At long last, I now can see
So ashamed I must now be,
A cottontail beneath my feet.