There Are Only Beasts

There Are Only Beasts

Poem by Kasey Senatore, based on The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

It is late, and as it is late,

It is dark,

And as it is dark, it is cold.

The sand whispers raspy nothing as the wind glides past-

Maybe through you,

Cause it doesn’t seem to

Hit you,

Or if it does, you don’t feel it.

Twilight claws at the corners of your vision,

But even so, you see things clearer than ever

As though the world were wearing a mask,

And it is gone now, plucked gracefully away.

Many things come into focus all at once.

First: deep crimson blood

Splattered in thick, messy cuts

Being licked away by the waves.

Second: a body lying at the edge of the water,

Bleeding like ink on a page.

And thirdly: nearby, standing stock still,

A group of wild-looking boys holding spears.

They are backlit by a fire in the forest,

And their faces are dark and obscure.

You look back at the body.

The waves are cradling his form now,

Less like a maternal embrace

And more like a mob boss dragging a victim

Away, away, out of sight, out of mind.

Green lights pulse in the water,

Illuminating the body like lightening strikes

Behind soft clouds

And in the unnatural light you realize

-- no, that might be --

Is that you?

Before you can decide,

The water has sucked it away,

Leaving only the blood in its wake.

You look back at the boys,

And something peculiar happens.

A cold breeze passes through you

Like a curtain being drawn.

Your vision clears

And there are no boys.

There are only beasts.