if i were to be bit by a vampire
this halloween

i imagine it would
be a surprisingly casual
encounter-- 
maybe i'd be going out
to get the mail &
a man in a black cape 
would approach-- 
we'd make small talk &
i would notice his
transyvanian accent
& make nothing of it
until of course he'd
lean over
& bite my neck--

there's something sensual 
about that isn't there?
or is it just me?

maybe i'd on the bus into 
norristown
sitting next to a 
strange tall man-- 
we'd talk about the 
absurdity
of candy corn or
the monster mash playing
on the radio for the eight
time that morning & before
you know it he'd
bite me &
you know the people around
wouldn't think much of it
considering it is
halloween & 
encounters with the
undead are rather common--

i would knock at
your door & ask you
to let me in--
you'd probably tease me
& my new vampire form
mocking
"i'll let you in
but only if you 
say pretty pretty please"

i guess i'd have to 
get an umbrella-- a
large black umbrella to
keep from burning up
in the sun--
no one would ask me
why my skin was so
pale considering i
already generally
have the complexion 
of a vampire--

come to think of it
things wouldn't actually 
be that different--
i would lay awake
at night knowing that sleep
wouldn't be coming--
i would lay awake
asking you to let
me in the front door--
my body only a shadow--
a dark form cast
by the moon--

i would lay awake &
mourn my body that
once slept--
mourn dreams of flight--
then of course i'd remember
that i could indeed
turn into a bat & 
fly but it wouldn't
be the same as that dream
flight-- that world 
un-tethered-- like becoming
an infinite swing-set--
a pendulum--
higher & higher above
the tree in my bat wings--

a little girl who 
is also me would point
up & ask her father if
that is a bat flying--
thin wings slicing through
nighttime clouds &
he would say yes &
point to me darting tree to
tree to tree--

i would travel the whole
town over to see
everyone in their halloween
costumes--
i'd see myself
the 11 year old grim reaper--
the little blue alien--
a power puff girl

there i'd stand-- 
wobbly legged
a 3 year old pumpkin-- holding
the hands of my mother &
father--
i'd grow vines-- 
plucked from the patch--
i'd be carved & 
they'd place a candle 
in my throat--
oh how i'd glow--
oh how i used to
glow--

there are so many
years in one halloween night--

by the end
i would feel heavy &
almost sleepy--
glide back home 
on the faint wind chime
laughter of trick-or-treaters

i would take a shower--
hang up my black cape
& attempt to 
brush my
fangs in the mirror
only to remember
that i lost my reflection
too-- sighing i touch
the foggy mirror--
draw a smiley face--

oh to live the life
of a vampire--
asking  asking
asking to be let in--
i'd pull the candle
out of my throat--
hang from the ceiling
to sleep