I had a coffee with a vampire this morning.
I don’t drink coffee – it doesn’t agree
with my tongue – so I just had a breakfast tea.
But the vampire had a very dark coffee.
He said his life was draining
so sucked up caffeine whenever given the chance.
His hair was hypnotically slick and pristinely
combed back. I asked him how work was
going and he talked about nightshifts
and struggling to make long lasting relationships
with colleagues. He asked me a lot of questions
about my son. He wanted to know
how it felt watching a body I could once hold
in one hand grow with the knowledge
I am likely to die before seeing him at his peak.
I nibbled the foot off a gingerbread man
and wondered how I’d look in a cape.

© Carl Burkitt 2023