A poetic retelling of Dracula continues….

Rules of the Beast II
by Michael Romani

Fresh blood can be so invigorating
As the new day's path is exhilarating
Ghostly mirages are fleeting in sight
Proofs of things that fill the night

Questions answered as if in riddle
When the truth fails, caught in the middle
Each day passes as lives are exchanged
Unacceptable in the beliefs estranged

Deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of madness
Remarkable in darkness and its sadness
Clawed out into its rabid indignity
The puzzles left for all of eternity

There is no question left worthy to ask
Once and when death chooses to remove its mask
The tombstone provides its sharp epitaph
Washed away and under the complexity of math

Begging to be killed; pleads the undead
Shadows of life played on in the head
Not to be passed by in its contamination
Consciousness persists in its unholy insinuation

Scratching at coffin lids for all eternity
The gravedigger's secret whispers its temerity
Faith is a complication salve for salvation
As blood is drained in feverish infatuation

A lack of strength finds its victim
As the Count hints a smile and laughs at him
Crawling feebly across the castle floor
Harker seeks escape; unwilling to give more

It's the clever ones who never listen
As the blood lost drips and glistens
Artists always wish to be understood
Who's to say if this is bad or good

(c) January 24, 2020  Michael Romani