And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled.
Was it possible they heard not?
Almighty God! -- no, no?
They heard! -- they suspected! -- they KNEW!
They were making a mockery of my horror!
This I thought, and this I think.
But anything was better than this agony!
Anything was more tolerable than this derision!
I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer!
I felt that I must scream or die!
And now -- again -- hark!
Louder! Louder! Louder! LOUDER!
"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more!
I admit the deed! -- tear up the planks!
Here, here! -- it is the beating of his hideous heart!"
Was it possible they heard not?
Almighty God! -- no, no?
They heard! -- they suspected! -- they KNEW!
They were making a mockery of my horror!
This I thought, and this I think.
But anything was better than this agony!
Anything was more tolerable than this derision!
I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer!
I felt that I must scream or die!
And now -- again -- hark!
Louder! Louder! Louder! LOUDER!
"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more!
I admit the deed! -- tear up the planks!
Here, here! -- it is the beating of his hideous heart!"
The Tell-Tale Heart is one of favourite tales. I came across this short story from 1953 which disappointingly does not contain the lines above.
Another one of my favourites, the EBM track by Diorama does contain the demented ending to the Poe story (no official music video).
I've been seeing so much poetry lately - everywhere. I even wrote a haiku yesterday about workplace woes.
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