A Warning
by Mark Walton
There are vampires my love.
They move amongst us
like the walking dead.
And those like you
who take a joy in life
whose very presence lights up a room
who blaze a trail across both night and day
who flare and spark like comet tails
with energy to spare,
it is such as you who should beware
for it is such as you who are their prey.
Please, my love, don’t be misled.
They are not like the characters
in films or songs or books.
They don’t have Boris Karloff looks
or Michael Jackson’s killer hooks.
They don’t require a full lit moon
to lead you like a lamb to slaughter.
In fact they look like me and you,
like anybody’s sons or daughters.
They may even thrill you too.
But hold them close and you will feel
it’s by the lack of inner fire
that burns within the living heart
that they may be distinguished.
Perhaps they never felt the spark of visceral combustion
or perhaps, for some infernal reason,
the internal flame has been extinguished.
And there are many myths my love.
They will not live a life eternal.
They inhabit light as well as dark.
You may gaze at their reflection
in the restaurant table glass
and garlic dough-ball starters
will offer no protection.
It’s not your blood they’re after either.
It’s the mesmerizing way
your eyes bring sparkle to the gloom,
your easy untamed laughter
that attracts them.
They believe the flame that
burns so bright within your heart
may be captured like a firefly in a jar,
tamed and made to serve them too.
But they are husks, the walking dead,
whose fires cannot be reignited.
Their need and jealousy are not
the loving deeds required to feed
the flames of fires such as yours.
So be warned my love.
For hard though it may be to believe it
your flame will dim and gutter out,
that burning light behind your eyes expire.
That sacred fire will die.
But you will carry on in their damned company
and together you will trawl these halls
seeking out the flames of strangers
who still illuminate the gathering dark.
So when I see
your spark
your fire
your flaming eyes
your burning heart
I want you to know
that there are vampires.
They are near and far
and they are here and there.
They are everywhere.
So please, my love, beware.
I tried for a teaser quote, but Mark's poem is too delicate and well-written to be pulled apart. It's worth the read, and the re-read. It's a lesson I have to keep learning. Thanks to Mark for allowing me to post it.
And beware. Share your light, but don't let it get snuffed out.
