Comforted Fears
The bright moon has risen, and with it a cry
Of anguish and triumph I cannot deny
I prowl through the night while the innocent sleep
And murder the shepherds as well as their sheep
I howl with the torment of ecstasy's toll
Driven by needs that I cannot control
The hunger for blood, and the lust for the kill
The deeper the shame is, the greater the thrill

With lonely men's need for a prostitute's bed
I slaughter the flock till desire is fed
But passion and pleasure depart with a jolt
And pain in my side from a silver-white bolt
Dismayed and afraid, from the watchmen I fly
Unworthy to live but unwilling to die
The sickening shame in me twists like a knife
As I helplessly fall at the feet of my wife

My terrible secret I never have shared
Because of the penalty I never dared
I never imagined in all of my years
That someone could comfort the monster she fears
My wife is an innocent; she never guessed
A hideous viper could hide in her nest
The deaths that so saddened her heart to the core—
She had no idea they might fall at her door
And though I appear more like monster than man
Miraculously, my wife knows who I am
She quickly perceives the extent of my sin
And yet, for some reason she welcomes me in

When neighbors arrive here in search of their prey
She lies to their faces and sends them away
And tends to my injuries all through the night
After she muzzles me so I won't bite

She gently removes the dread bolt from my side
And strokes fur that so coarsely covers my hide
She brings me such easement I've not felt in years
And carefully comforts the monster she fears

The morning sun rises to see me made whole
Excepting the miserable ache in my soul
As, broken and tearful, I try to explain
Why I have engendered such horror and pain
Despite the misdeeds I can never defend
My wife, like an alchemist, sets me to mend
My ugly confession's a kind of relief
As guilt in my heart is transmuted to grief
With strength like a reed during high river flows
She calmly assesses the threat that I pose
She will not allow me to slaughter more sheep
But if I'll obey her, my secret she'll keep
So now when the moonlight shines down on the field
She chains me in iron, our neighbors to shield
And keeps close the silver bolt, sharp and concealed
For though she may bind me, I'll never be healed

She cannot absolve me; it isn't her place
And yet her acceptance is something like grace
It's more than I hoped for in all of my years
That my wife should comfort the monster she fears