Vampire
you are my fears
with your sharp teeth
and pale eyes
and ignorance, of all things
that force the air
into my lungs and make me
breathe out.
and if I crawled to you
with my hand outstretched
would you sink those teeth
into my palm
and draw forth the blood
that carries with it
the tiny cramped knowledge
of DNA
coded into a millionth of the space
I could occupy with one letter
of one word
and with your red teeth
gleaming
which of us could speak
a language that defies description
and which of us could speak?
when I watch your smile curve up
and up, I feel
as if I have lain, mummified
for a thousand years
and that the secret codes
of my body, that slam
through the infinitesimal cosmos
of the spaces between the
cells that create me
are starting to slow
and unravel.
It is that fear
that makes me press into the
night
that makes my head turn
when your lips part
and my veins throb because
tomorrow, it may be too late.
I know it is a
weakness, of flesh
or of desire that makes me
want to see the life
spilling out from my hand
as if one could defy
the future with pain
as if one could divine
the future with pain
as if one could define
the future with pain
but,
I am left turning
my head towards your smile
and trying to know if
the letters that I string
together
with such obsession
can create life.
you are my fears
with your sharp teeth
and pale eyes.
(written for Daniel who died of cancer in 2007 -
qu'il vive éternellement)
