A mutual respect for beauty
The man on the deck
woke me the fuck up.
Pardon my language, I
was startled.
Staring at my wife sleeping,
outside a glass sliding door
to the bedroom he was.
And it was unlocked.
In fact, it was open,
wide enough for the cat.
And an arm the shape of a man's.
Yeah, his arm was in my house,
through the door,
his face drooling blood as
His eyes looked from my wife
to me
to her
to me. He wanted us.
Her, anyway.
His arm was in the house.
But, though drooling blood,
He was quiet, polite.
He didn't want to wake her.
Nor did I.
And I needed my sleep.
So I went to the open door,
put my hand on his arm and
Gently folded it back toward him
until it cleared the house
and he could lower it to his side.
We knew the rules,
but he still looked dejected.
In life, he must have been handsome,
and he seemed like a nice guy.
The cat came in then, Orange, furry.
She had been rubbing the night man's legs.
I whispered:
"I AM sorry, Master Vampire.
I know you must be hungry,
but I can't invite you in.
I have to give an exam in the morning,
and she has a presentation."
He smiled. His fangs were beautiful.
"I understand," he said.
"She is lovely, isn't she?"
"I need my sleep, Master Vampire."
"In dreams, you need not fear me."
"I know. Goodnight."
He turned his face to the sky,
and flew.
I let in the cat,
went back to bed,
and slept myself a long-forgotten sleep.