In the middle of the night
The slow scratch
Of my long slender claws
At the entrance
To your home
Sets the soul to shiver
the body to quake
Forgotten when you awake
Almost
But I have not gone away
I never go away
When the sun rises
I can be found
About the town
Dressed as a Shepard
Smiling and tending
to his flock
Who smile back
Ignorant of the hunger
Of their steward
When none are paying attention
When all feel safe
Their trusted one transforms
I become the nightmare
that can’t be escaped
Offspring of the vulture and the snake
I feed
On the despair and deception
I cultivate
My flock
They march
To the banks and the battlefields
They march
To the prisons and the cubicles
They march
In rows and columns
to their homes, offices and graves
Never ending lanes
Of quiet despair
my dinner and desert
I rejoice in the conformity
the lack of imagination
So easily terrified
I drop “might-be’s” on the wind
And laugh as tragedy unfolds
And they unmake all they hold dear
while guarding against
The whisper of a fear
begging for someone
to lead them
out of adversity
so,
I creep into your homes
I creep into your gatherings
whispering
about the danger
of unseen things
that aren’t me
that will never be
turning you into
your own worst enemy
as you destroy each other
before anyone can
build something better
something which would not require
a Shepherd
And when
In the end
Inevitably
It all topples down
The Soviets, The Romans, The Babylonians
the destruction and despair
Feeds me like
Mothers tit suckles her young
And I grow strong
And help my flock
Build it all
Again
I am the Shepherd
of civilization
tending my flock
into devastation
by dropping fear
at the borders of their prison
labeled freedom
fear
of the very thing
that I intend to happen
and I laugh
as they thank me
for my guidance
I am the Shepard
I am here to protect you