Outside, time is non-existent
as the nocturnal creature freezes
in his white satin skin,
invisible in mirrors,
with his long, sharp diamond fangs
he awaits his prey in dark shadows,
in putrid alleys, beneath bridges,
stalking humans for fresh blood,
the elixir for his immortality.
Sadness is his only friend, loneliness his lover.
He lives life oblivious to feelings,
immersed in his Romantic traditions of the undead,
for he fears humans more than humans fear him.

With each kill, he learns more about the living,
their nature, the empathy he can never feel,
compassion, fear, pain, joy, anger, excitement,
the imaginary goals they build their lives upon,
love and the heroism to fight against all odds
sometimes even knowing death is at the door;
the uncertainty of tomorrow,
what a new day may bring.
Whilst he boasts about his immortality,
humans think of death as a relief,
for after all the strife and glory achieved,
they hasten to seek the Grim Reaper’s reprieve.
After so many shattered dreams, they want to rest in peace,
whilst he has to continue living forever: to search and to seek.

“If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires?”
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, letter to the Archbishop of Paris, “The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right”

Two time Pushcart Prize nominee, Raymond Fenech Gonzi is an editor, writer and writing therapist from Malta.