In his crimson-lined cape,
Bela's resplendent. A cruel matinee idol, a
walking corpse. Widow's peak, hypnotic eyes,
white zombie seducer. He pulls the
strings, strung out himself on junk. The
virginal brides file past the womb-tomb,
long white fingers splayed out before them.
In an orgy of bloodlust they feast on a child
delivered to their waiting beaks, jaws foaming,
lathered crimson. Bela's shadow stretches
through the window as he folds the rest of
himself into a pair of black wings, signifying
the end game. He flies through the air, arriving
at her window. The poet raises her head
thinking of Sleepytime Bears, frowsy bed-hair.
She reaches for the pipe and tucks in with the
gut-soother, opium. Now she and Bela fly
together, their souls knit together.
The virginal brides descend
endlessly down the
spiral staircase
performing a
Moebius striptease
operation.
Life as we know it has
reached
critical black
mass.
The endgame approaches.
Aurelia De Quincey, vampire poet,
sleek as the dreams of obsidian with
ten times the glamor
Rocks back and forth through the
penning of a new verse. She places her
writing instrument, a Mont Blanc fountain pen
given her by the Arab millionaire, on the
zinc oxide bartop. Lifts the FDR/HST cigarette
holder to lips that haunt many
dreams. Blows a perfect smoke
circle into the following
century.
Alex S. Johnson is the author of many books, including most recently THUNDERSTRUCK, a dark poetry collection written in collaboration with Sandy DeLuca and Alea Celeste Williams, and the critically-acclaimed THE FLOWERS OF DOOM. Recently his books THE DOOM HIPPIES and SKULL VINYL were acquired by the Widener Library at Harvard University for their cultural significance. Johnson's work has appeared in poeticdiversity, Misfits, Horror Sleaze Trash, Dark Angel, HWA POETRY SHOWCASE III, HYDROPHOBIA, 13 Mynah Birds, Bizarro Central, Bloodsongs magazine, Cthulhu Sex and much more. He lives in Carmichael, California with his family where he runs Nocturnicorn Books and the SMOL BEAR N' PICKLES Youtube interview show, with guests that include that acclaimed dark fiction authors Seb Doubinsky and Kathe Koja as well as bestselling author and entrepreneur Lyric Rivera, aka Neurodivergent Rebel.
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