Call me a Beast

Bitter is the pain
in my heart tonight
as I am reminded
that there are those
who characterize me
as a predator
upon the weak and vulnerable,
as a fraud
putting on an act,
as someone lying
through my teeth.
My friends, called sycophants,
my Beloved, called fools,
my deeds and words
deemed only camouflage.
My beliefs described
as falsehoods told
to deceive those
that I claim to love.
If I am such a Beast,
then repudiate me,
leave me in peace,
never trouble me again,
for such monsters
as you characterize me to be,
have a dark history
of savaging tormentors.