Dracula Plans His Hallowe’en Soiree
by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Near Hallowe’en, routine tension sets in.
Expected entertainment, catering,
Décor: a bachelor like Dracula
Tries to outdo last year’s event— though some
Attended by mistake and won’t return.
Tradition dictates hospitality’s
Essential to his kind. Longevity
Must be preserved. Drinks are but one concern.
His entourage deserves to be amused.
Instead of necks turned red as after-birth,
Refreshments can be served by a blood bank,
Thanks to a generous donation made.
Exquisite concentration on details
Is a tourniquet for his unquiet mind,
Obsessed with real estate, castle upkeep,
Demands imposed by vamphood’s life-in-death.
His party plans completed, its checklist ticked,
The Transylvanian lord licked his lips,
Succumbed to tempting pleasure-crested pricks.
Expected entertainment, catering,
Décor: a bachelor like Dracula
Tries to outdo last year’s event— though some
Attended by mistake and won’t return.
Tradition dictates hospitality’s
Essential to his kind. Longevity
Must be preserved. Drinks are but one concern.
His entourage deserves to be amused.
Instead of necks turned red as after-birth,
Refreshments can be served by a blood bank,
Thanks to a generous donation made.
Exquisite concentration on details
Is a tourniquet for his unquiet mind,
Obsessed with real estate, castle upkeep,
Demands imposed by vamphood’s life-in-death.
His party plans completed, its checklist ticked,
The Transylvanian lord licked his lips,
Succumbed to tempting pleasure-crested pricks.
LindaAnn LoSchiavo, a Native New Yorker and four-time nominee for The Pushcart Prize, has also been nominated for Best of the Net, the Rhysling Award, and Dwarf Stars. She is an Elgin Award winner, an IPPY Award nominee, and a member of SFPA, The British Fantasy Society, and The Dramatists Guild. Find her on X @Mae_Westside and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHm1NZIlTZybLTFA44wwdfg.