Caliban

"This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine."
-- Prospero, The Tempest

If I brought the beast in me before your eyes
And bid you touch the pulse beneath its skin
Would you feel the inkling dark surprise
Of bonding, smile the smile that welcomes kin?
Remember: Beast belongs in goodly company
Of archetype and daimon, shares the table
Equally with gods. Caliban is not to be
If predators are locked in stables.
Wholly human is half beast. In pain,
Beneath your edifice of highrise floors
Where paler angels chant correct refrains,
A black rhino batters the black diamond doors.
         Those who cannot find the Beast and free
         It, love not me; nor, my darling, all of thee.