Vampire
by Randall Ivey
I’m a vampire.
I come to life at night
while others are preparing for bed,
putting away their innocent children.
I feed off their dreams as surely
as the lycanthrope feeds off their blood
(or the vampire, to be consistent).
I’m a night creature
propelled by the worst anxiety,
afraid of light and what disappointments
it might reveal, what bad news it might bring:
the death of loved ones, rejection of a manuscript,
the election of a brain-dead tyrant,
some further failure of my own revolting body.
There’s no enjoyment in living,
just worry: over my body
and the bodies of those I love--
that suddenly they may make
the ultimate revolt and just quit.
I worry someone will say no
To a poem or a story.
Best to sleep away the day
and live when the heat has diminished
and people are too tired to hate
and the monsters, like me, emerge,
to make life more interesting,
and the editors have put away
their laptops and their judgment.
I come to life at night
while others are preparing for bed,
putting away their innocent children.
I feed off their dreams as surely
as the lycanthrope feeds off their blood
(or the vampire, to be consistent).
I’m a night creature
propelled by the worst anxiety,
afraid of light and what disappointments
it might reveal, what bad news it might bring:
the death of loved ones, rejection of a manuscript,
the election of a brain-dead tyrant,
some further failure of my own revolting body.
There’s no enjoyment in living,
just worry: over my body
and the bodies of those I love--
that suddenly they may make
the ultimate revolt and just quit.
I worry someone will say no
To a poem or a story.
Best to sleep away the day
and live when the heat has diminished
and people are too tired to hate
and the monsters, like me, emerge,
to make life more interesting,
and the editors have put away
their laptops and their judgment.
Randall Ivey is the author of eight books of fiction for adults and children whose work has appeared in venues across the US and in Europe. He teaches English at the University of South Carolina in Union.