A mild ache within

nothing much otherwise,

growing to restlessness

and burning in the eyes.

Ignored, pushed aside

banished to the dark,

for there were voyages to be taken

and journeys to embark.

But it crawled back above

and grew from inside,

nothing to lose

and nothing to hide.

It clawed from within

could claw itself out,

and I would have succumbed

without any doubt.

An ever-growing pain

and me as its feast,

until I unleashed

my inner beast.