Writings by the Author

Writings by the Author

Warning to you hunter,
when your hand will not be still--
when your mercy fails your prey,
is it you or he who's killed?

Do you want an explanation of the poem? Well, here's what it means-- at least what I made it to mean. If a vampire hunter kills without mercy, then how is he any better than those vampires whom he is killing? Mercy is a characteristic of humanity, so to remain human we must excercise it and keep ourselves above those which we condemn, else we are no better than they.

Kyuuketsuki

The rush of warm blood.
Tell me, Kyuuketsuki,
who is it you serve?

Beds are cold alone,
Kyuuketsuki. Is it
his or yours that's hot?

Or is it the yen
you love, Kyuuketsuki?
Money crackles crisp.

All geisha wear masks,
Kyuuketsuki, but yours,
is oddest of all.

Oh, Kyuuketsuki. I just love to say that word. What does it mean, you ask? Why, it's "vampire" in Japanese. A geisha is a female entertainer (no, not a stripper, and not a prostitute). Yes, of course, is Japanese money. Language lesson aside, what does this poem mean? Well, I wrote it based on a picture of a geish vampire. I have a print copy of the picture, but have yet to find it again on the web. When I do find it, I will put it up and the poem will make excellent sense. By the way, if you didn't notice, it's a haiku. Kudos for me. Vampires, geishas and haiku all in one. All right, to the meaning, picture or no: Who is the master of the vampire geisha-- Kyuuketsuki, as I generically refer to her here? Is she a slave to her blood lust? When she has relations, does she do it for herself or for her lover? Or does she live the life of a geisha for the money? The haiku set concludes with all geisha are mysterious-- referring to their painted "masks"-- but a vampire among geisha is even more strange, as you never know what she's about.

Vampire Shackled

For every bit of power,
another chain is dealt.
Your triumph finds your failure,
when the hunter hunts himself.

Oh, what am I talking about here? This is my favorite, because it took me a while to write, and only came to mind after a deep, internal philosophical debate. So the meaning might not be obvious to everyone. So here it is: How does a vampire get his power? By biting and subduing people, of course. Now, what happens if there are no more people to bite or subdue? Uh-oh, no more power. Is a vampire even a vampire when there's no one to feed from? A vampire, by definition, is a being who feeds from others. Think of this poem in terms of the Taoist meditation, "If a tree falls in the wood and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" If a vampire has no victim, is he still a vampire? So you see, everytime a vampire takes a victim's life, he's put himself one step closer to extinction-- worse, non-being. So, you see, everytime the vampire grows more powerful by taking a victim, he actually gets less powerful in the long run. And, in turn, he's hunting himself because he, better than any vampire killer, can push himself into oblivion. Ah-ha! How clever is that? Damn bloody clever, I think. That's why it's my favorite.

A vampire came once to me,
Shrouded in the night,
And though he offered eternal life,
I couldn't take the bite.

Not for philosophy or faith,
or nagging moral pangs,
but for the shameful fact, a coward I,
was fearful of his fangs.

Pictures provided by:

(Flames) A web page on vampire tours in New England.