The Soundless Music of the Lake

I came to rest beside a placid lake
I'd run all night, and then I had to stop
At daybreak, when my strength had given out
Wearily down to my knees I sank

Fear crippled me and darkness I foresaw
Yet faint I was, too powerless to rise
Alas, sick fascination forced my eyes
To look into the dark, enthralling deeps

There did I see a thing, a pallid face
That stared at me with horrid, rictus grin
Cold eyes and sneering maw, it ghastly lurked
I felt it was inhuman, felt its wrath

Of course I knew this beast, I knew it well
It was the very one that I had fled
It beckoned me and I held out my hand
Lake's surface rippled once and then stood still