A Poet is a Vampire, by James J. Stevenson

Insatiable ambition to produce
A line of worth—a line that bites the vein,
That changes circulation, twists the strain—
Will make a poet’s mouth become a noose
To coil around a muse’s neck, seduce
Her with black blood, a vampire’s ink, and stain
Her with that passion too. My curse, her pain
To wait—for words—for me to set us loose.
Yet when the fraying’s done, the knot between
Us tears apart and drops me far and clear
Through thunderstorms which calm my blood and clean
My slate where sunspots of the world appear.
Then my ambition in her lights a fuse:
As poet she’ll move more than any muse.

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My poems, stories, and comics have been published in a bunch of anthologies and journals, but the quickest way to see what I’m up to is @writelightning on most social media. I frequently post haiku+photography (often of my Star Wars action figures…) with over 400 in my archive. All my social media links are at writewithlightning.com