I've had a breakthrough (aka: I gave myself a break... or two: slight change of form, big change in viewpoint):

THE MONSTER CHALLENGES YOUR CATEGORIES

The day is warm, the playful breeze is light;
The sun (just like a lover at the gate)
Has called the flowers out -- and you, as well --
So even mundane tasks are pleasant things.

And then, you see the shadow in the crowd:
A monster in the corner of your eye.

An insult made of flesh and bone -- obscene!
Worse than any word or gesture, this:
Audacity in daring to exist:
Denying everything you've learned to know.

And you are Good. You've learned what elders taught.
About what makes a Man, and makes a Beast,
And how to tell an Adult from a Child,
And how to keep your own place in the world.

The monster in the crowd has moved away.
The shadow that it cast remains behind;
It's lodged there, in the corner of your thoughts --
A seed that's far too dangerous to sprout.

But you are Good. You take this as a test,
Enclose what's Wrong in pity, and move on.