Poetry in Notions, Part II

 No Rest for the Wicked

By Toby Weingarten

He refuses to release the grasp on his blade

Although his muscles ache terribly.

His breathe soon becomes more regular

As his racing pulse calms down.

“The scholars were wrong,” he thinks,

There was no fire in this beast’s belly

Only barrels of blood and gore, 

Slowly spilling out in a crimson bruise

Spreading along the ground.

Amethyst shimmers in the pool as it congeals

With a reflection of the sapphire sky.

The drake had been ravishing the countryside

For many a week, taking what little to be had

Among the lonely farmers far from the towns.

Livestock mostly, and the occasional child, or twelve,

As who could say who was missing and who was not.

The call to arms went straight to the king, 

Many leagues away form the dangers

Of the open fields and valleys.

He sent many to their deaths to end

The creature’s terror, til only one remained.

He survived by waiting, watching, even as

The drake flew off with his fellow knights

As each one fell to its powerful blows.

He learned how each emerald scale

Snaked over the neck, wings, and tail,

But not the belly, where larger golden scales

Stretched over the swollen stomach.

That day, with storm clouds threatening for the night,

He boldly strode to the meadow where his fellows lost

Their lives to the the drake, its claws and fangs.

Yet, never a flame, not even a spark.

The knight jggust stood his ground, as the beast

Flew once again towards its foe,

But the knight just raised his arms

As the drake drew near, with the sword by his side

And a hook hidden behind his wrist.

The barb drew deep into the bloated belly

And stayed, even as the beast and knight flew off

Over the treetops and towards the lone hill where

The beast’s den must lay.

The knight drew his sword, with his off-hand,

And sank it straight into the flesh, between the soft scales.

He held on, as the drake crashed into tree after tree

Raging and rolling, but the knight stayed on.

One final thump, off the hillside onto the ground below.

The beast had lost; it would never harm the land again.

The knight quickly leapt to his feet, in the middle

Of his revelry, as a gurgling belch arose from the 

Beast’s gaping mouth—a trickle of garnet blood 

Oozed out, adding to the drying pool on the ground.

The forest will return, he thinks, the tree will grow back,

But the blossoms will cover the fields first.

All that was left is to search the lair, a cave 

In the hillside right behind him.

Maybe find the stolen riches, one of those lost

Or at least their remains if lucky.

She watches from the shadows, at her mate’s murderer.

She feels the fires trying to ignite, a gift she never shared.

Just another human to steal the gold lining her nest

Or to rob her of another precious hatchling.

One quick bite, then the mourning begins.

Her brood could use an extra snack. 

ADDICTION

By Toby Weingarten

Don’t go out tonight, dear.

I have all that you need.

You have nothing to fear.

Upon me, you may feed.

I let you take my hand.

Let me feel your cool kiss.

Give in to the demand.

Now, I fall into bliss.

I feel your teeth bite deep

To take all that you may.

Into you mouth, I seep

Until the break of day.

I stay awake all night

Although I get so weak.

You leave at the first light

Without the need to speak.

 

I have taken your thirst

In your life eternal..

My blood was not your first

Now that you’re infernal.

I feel my soul afire.

You shall live forever.

My lover, vampire.

He will leave me never.