The Dark One

I am the dark one
Who nests in the crook
Of your warm heart,
The one the world
Doesn’t like all that much.
But you do, you love me
And I curl in contentment
Like that black cat in the shade
Of respite from projectile shoes.

I am the dark one
Whose eyes hold yours
In unabashed adulation
Because you hold me gently,
Unafraid of my claws and fangs.
You know, you know.

You know I’d hold you carefully
So my many sharp points
Never so much as graze you.

I am the dark one,
A monster of shadow and fire,
And you walk holding me

As if I were merely
A black kitten
Sleeping in the shade.