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A poetic grimoire that catalogs toxic human archetypes as predatory animals—Possum, Snake, Hyena, Wolf—then pivots from darkness to light, ultimately arriving at the Honey Bee as healer and the Muse as the force that restores trust after betrayal.
This is Plahm’s most ambitious conceptual piece: a two-volume grimoire of trust. The Predatory Bestiary maps four escalating archetypes of betrayal, each following a disciplined parallel structure: the creature’s method, its disguise, its damage, and the direct-address question (“Ever met someone / Like the ‘Possum’?”). The Possum lies in wait behind innocence; the Snake seduces with venom-laced promises; the Hyena feasts on what the strong leave behind; the Wolf devours with patience masquerading as nobility. Each handoff—”And beyond the possum / —slithers the predatory… / Snake”—creates a chain of escalating menace culminating in “The end / Of life.” But the poem refuses to stay in darkness. The extended bestiary catalog (Chameleon, Cuckoo, Parasite, Spider, Scorpion, the devastating Evocative Siren) expands the taxonomy, while the Tick—”Small, silent, / burrowed deep”—delivers the poem’s most chilling insight: the worst predators are intimate ones. The pivot to light—Dolphin’s joy, Lighthouse’s truth, Shepherd’s care, Oak’s strength—reframes the HoneyBeeBard as a creature navigating between shadow and sweetness. The closing Michelangelo image—”The finger bump, / Of life gifted”—suggests trust can be restored through the smallest gesture of authentic connection.
Plahm’s darkest and most conceptually ambitious work—a genuine poetic grimoire that functions as both warning manual and spiritual taxonomy. The four-beast structure (Possum, Snake, Hyena, Wolf) is brilliantly organized, each escalating in destructive power while maintaining tight parallel form. The recurring question—”Ever met someone like the…?”—transforms literary conceit into lived recognition, inviting readers to populate the bestiary with their own betrayers. The Tick section is the poem’s quiet masterpiece, delivering maximum menace in minimum lines. The pivot from predatory to luminous bestiary demonstrates remarkable structural ambition, though the light section feels less fully developed than the dark—perhaps inevitably, since warning carries more dramatic urgency than reassurance. The Michelangelo closing image earns its grandeur by arriving after so much intimacy with betrayal. Minor weakness: the extended catalog of additional beasts (Chameleon through Scorpion) risks becoming a list rather than poetry. But as a conceptual achievement—a two-volume grimoire of trust that maps both its destroyers and its guardians—this stands as one of Plahm’s most significant and rereadable works.
A Spiritual Tome
following the
Dance of the Honey Bee
Toxic personalities…
We have all met them. Some we escaped. Some we didn’t.
The beginning of a poetic grimoire.
A dark taxonomy of misplaced trust.
The Predatory Bestiary
A Dark Fable of Trust, Betrayal, And the Beasts that Wear Human Skin.
Possum—Or Poser?
(The predatory bestiary)
Lying in wait
Lying to get in
Lying to obtain
The unobtainable.
Posing as innocent
Posing as virtuous
Posing as a victim
Unassuming and presentable
Looking so handsome, harmless, helpless
Performing the victim
Echoing your fear
Until the trap
Is sprung
Ever met someone
Like the ‘Possum’?
He lures you in
But only wants
Your ‘Nectar’.
And beyond the possum
—slithers the predatory…
Snake.
Snake—Or Seducer?
(The predatory bestiary)
Slithering in silence
Slipping through the cracks
Swaying with a promise
To steal what you lack
Posing as a savior, a friend, a lover
With venom concealed
In whispered promises
And a kiss you can’t mend.
Looking so sleek
Looking so wise
Looking so honest
With cold, gleaming eyes
Ever met someone
Like the ‘Snake’?
They charm, they coil,
They break your heart
Their hiss is sweet
But their bite’s a knife
To your soul.
And when the snake Is done
The scavenger awaits—
Hyena.
Hyena—Or Scavenger?
(The predatory bestiary)
Laughing in the shadows,
Lingering at the edge,
Lurking where the strong fall,
Waiting for the dredge
Scooping the leftovers.
Posing as a jester, fool,
Harmless follower of rules.
Looking so loyal, so meek, so hungry,
With blood on his teeth.
Ever met someone
Like the ‘Hyena’?
They cheer your fall,
They mock your pain,
They’ll feast upon what’s left
With laughter still wet
in their eyes.
And beyond the hyena
—stalks the silent…
Wolf.
The end
Of life.
Wolf—Or Destroyer?
(The predatory bestiary)
Stalking through the silence,
Prowling in the dusk,
Hunting with a patience,
That turns your trust to dust.
Posing as a guardian, a guide,
Posing as your shadow,
With hunger deep inside.
Looking so noble, strong, righteous,
But their teeth prove you wrong.
Ever met someone
Like the ‘Wolf’?
They watch, they wait,
They tear you apart.
Their howl a vow
To devour your heart—
And mark the grave
of your trust.
“Ever met them?
You will.
In faces you know,
In shadows you love,
In trust that bleeds eternal.
Beware the bestiary —
It feeds on you.”
They wear many faces,
They whisper, they charm.
They wait for your weakness,
They sharpen their harm.
Not beasts in the forest,
But people you know—
In family, in lovers,
In friendships that seem to glow.
Beware their disguises,
Beware when they plead.
Beware their professed innocence.
The bestiary is endless,
And it feeds…
On your need.
You’ve met them already.
In mirrors, in laughter,
In kisses that wound,
In friends who betray.
Beware the bestiary—
It feasts on your trust
And your needs.
The Possum = the mask of innocence.
The Snake = the seduction and betrayal.
The Hyena = the mockery of your ruin.
The Wolf = the final devourer, death of spirit.
‘The greatest beast
is sometimes
the one
staring back
in the mirror.’
—The HoneyBeeBard.
Always in search of Nectar,
The sweetness and the sting of Truth.
What other beasts live in the bestiary?
The Chameleon – the ever-shifting mask.
The Cuckoo – burden in another’s nest.
The Parasite – drinking your strength dry.
The Crow – voice of ill-omen.
The Octopus – entangler, master of deception.
The Vulture – patient eater of spoilage.
The Spider – architect of snares.
The Magpie – thief of glitter, trader in lies.
The Scorpion – stings when all is dark.
The Evocative Siren – the Master of Beautiful Lies.
Human in form but beast in truth.
Intoxication of tomorrow,
wreckage hidden on the rocks.
The Muse that Seduces.
“Not beasts in the forest, but people you know…
The greatest beast is sometimes the one in the mirror…”
And then…
The Tick—
Small, silent,
burrowed deep.
Feeding slowly,
until you no longer
notice the wound.
The subtlest of predators.
Living off your blood.
Infecting your life.
It’s not in the forest…
It’s intimate.
Let’s just explore
What the Honey Bee
Brings
Instead of the
Darkside.
Let’s explore…
The Dolphin’s joy,
The Lighthouse’s truth,
The Shepherd’s care,
The Oak’s strength,
The Muse – my source of inspiration, creativity, and, an addition to the beauty in this world.
Tomorrow…
–The HoneyBeeBard.
Always in search of Nectar,
The sweetness and the sting of Truth.
Stories of betrayal and redemption.
Your trust a canvas of possibilities,
A future of promise
A sunrise.
A Michealangelo I see on the ceiling…
The finger bump,
Of life gifted.
That’s sometimes all it takes.
A fingertip touch.
Trust restored.
But, also, in my life—
I Trust.
In You.
For now,
The HoneyBeeBard’s
Thumb is exhausted.
The Sanctuary Bestiary: A Luminous Fable of Trust Earned, Love Given, and the Guardians that Wear Human Hearts
—&—
Honey Bee—Or Healer? Dancing in Sunlight Gathering sweetness Sharing the Nectar Of Authenticity
We now have a two-volume grimoire of trust:
The Predatory Bestiary— maps the Betrayers of Trust.
The Luminous Bestiary— names the Protectors of Trust.
And centering it all—the Honey Bee, wandering between shadow and light, weaving Nectar from both sting and sweetness.
The Guiding Bestiary: Keepers of Trust, Guardians of Light
The Restorative Bestiary: A Light Fable of Trust, Healing, and the Guardians that Wear Human Skin
The Sanctuary Bestiary – Light Counters to the Predatory Dark
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