Vampire Poem
text and images by Sylvia Gorelick
to survive the kill
the theft of future
spasm against spine
it’s not about the knife in the movie
it’s about what happens
that afternoon
the blood kiss
a song
without words
a shrouded bed
to wake in
walking nightmare
self-devouring
in the distance
the witch who never
reveals her secret
immortalizing music
an impression recalls
life underground
never so airless and cold
as that day
someone wanted you dead
but you’re alive
shards in blue
I stayed in that box
until the clawing
could release us
is it with time
a brightness grows
like meaning
and diffuse unchanging
you shed the girl
you were
and never were
mesmeric
in the wrong room
if only to be monsters
together in an old hotel