I’m glad you didn’t know me before,
Back when I was a vampire with a hungry rattle in the throat.
The night was like a sock wedged on the head;
If I could, I would have turned it back.

I have weathered and leathered my hide,
I’m just a wraith now, love,
Wraiths don’t bite.
My teeth are glittering in a glass
Like jewels from a woman’s neck.

God, how I hate the blood in this town,
How pale it looks, how thick it runs,
Like cream of tomato stoppering a throbbing vein.
Not that I would know.

I cannot will my smoky fingers back to flesh,
I’m hypnotized by my night-light and video games.
The prayer is calling, the cock is crowing,
But I’m going outside and lighting a cigarette.

I squint at the dark through eyes you kiss.

Raise a cross above your head,
So I scream and writhe on the floor.
It’s always the men in the business suits
You must watch out for.
Oh do I ever know.

My rare rose cries petals for you,
And my body of air
Weeps wool and cashmere,
Like a coat rack in a good restaurant.

It’s all I could ever do -
Lie awake afterward and watch over you.
A car passing, a dog’s bark,
In the darkest patch of night – a stray star.

Tags: alina zaria, poetry