by Joseph R. Trombatore
(01/30/08)
The Vampire
invites you over
because he can
has a red front door
when you get there
computer is on
ashtrays hungry
art glass lamps softly
lick light from yesterday's lips
there are dark shadows in corners
that move about
figures poised for the dance
the main event
while country music plays
strange smoke rises like an erection
the air is swollen with my fingers
after jeans & jock straps
names are matched up with faces
torsos
tongue & touch
lips glisten with anticipation
The Vampire
prefers not to loan out his DVD's
gets tired of scratches
smeared thumbprints in a water-based lube
the stops & skips of a moon's cycle
the distorted fraction
of a magnificent scream
wants a smooth segue
from dining room to dungeon
heavy flagstone alley footfalls
just before the rape scene
pallid candles
& masked lunatic
laughing in the key of e
sirens & mockingbirds
that
sound
like
sirens & mockingbirds
a boy's choir practicing the sacraments
among so many
hungry priests
The Vampire
requires a face pic
before a casual hookup
shade of eyelash
curve of cornea
size of bootstrap
cut of toenail
wants to know how often
work out point requirements
yacht or row boat
bottle or
breastfed baby
the color of your pubic hairs
masculine truck driver
headboard
turnpike
always ready to deliver a load
inked & pierced
tall & sirloin
rippled as a moonlit pond
when frogs
escape a Whiskered Screech
Bare Shanked
or Malaysian
White Throated Owl
The Poet's Companion - by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux