That What Lurks Within

Beneath yon moonlit, hallowed ground
Doth creep a beast of dread untold
Its claws with cursed marrow crowned
Its gaze a pyre both fierce and cold

A shadowed wretch of sinewy rot
Its breath, a whisper fraught with pain
Lingers 'neath stagnant wisps and knots
A harbinger of doom's refrain

Yet lo! It dwelleth not alone
For deep within thy trembling chest
Its likeness molds thy heart to stone
And robs thy soul of tranquil rest

Thy own despair it calls its lair
Thy sins, the feast it doth devour
It weaves thy guilt into a snare
And binds thee in its midnight bower

O creature wrought of flesh and fear
Why dost thou haunt both night and man?  
Art thou but specter dark and drear
Or art thou part of His cruel plan?  

Though graves may quake and shadows weep
No earthly force can still its might
For it doth prowl both wake and sleep
The lurking curse within thy sight