The Gap of Dunloe

We walk amongst unbridled majesty.
The air is brisk yet invigorating;
I press forward to become enveloped.
You dawdle, whine, and complain, see nothing.

I don't forget that we are animals.
I can smell the weakness oozing from you,
Bright, as though it were a widow's perfume.
Instinct overcomes my trained compassion.

I succumb to the urge to dominate;
Not physically, I have control for that,
But I unleash the full brunt of my will,
No longer hiding my contempt for you.
I sneer and condescend. You, mouse. Me, cat.

At peak, basking in your bewilderment,
I catch hold of a glimpse of honest pain.
At once, the predator evaporates,
As I, the man who attacked flesh, remain,
Ashamed and truly apologetic,
Amidst the embers of the loved one torched,
Ultimately, for no greater purpose
Than what was already known: that I could.

Though we soon finish the Gap of Dunloe,
The struggle with the beast has far to go.