steve1223 Poetry (718)

You think Hell is fire

Where souls eternally burn

Well Hell is here on Earth

This place I call home

It's almost dawn, time for me to return
Don't want to be caught out in sunshine
The hunting tonight was rather good
I even bagged a young tasty virgin

I have to be careful what blood I drink
Much too much is drug tainted
And virgins, well, they are so rare
You have more luck with hen's teeth

Now in the old country, that was fine
There were virgins there aplenty
The hunting good every night
Cause the peasants meek and fearful

Terror I struck in every heart
None dared stand against me
Behind their doors they cowered at night
So easy for me to find them

Everything changed when someone called
That damned vampire hunter, Van Helsing
A man renowned for hunting us down
His aim, my people to eradicate

In dead of night I moved my bed
A beautiful mahogany coffin
Took it down and put it aboard
A ship bound for Australia

Great care I took aboard this ship
Could not let them see me
Hunger grew as the nights passed
I knew I soon needed feeding

Carefully I ventured out
On a cold, dark, moonless night
A sailor at the stern I found
His blood was hot and sweet

I threw the body overboard
So none would know the truth
Left empty bottle of rum on deck
To give them false impression

As I hoped the found the scene
Ans assumed that he was drunk
In his stupor made mistake
And over the side he fell

I dared not play that game again
Had to live with my hunger
But was not long, journey's end
Our arrival in Sydney Town

There's places old with windy streets
And shadows there for hiding
Here I feel quite at home
Most nights the hunting is easy

I can see the faintest rays
Dawn is near approaching
Down I go to where I reside
Again I'll sleep in my coffin

As I walk a lonely mile
My past is far behind
My future is I know not where
As yet it's not defined

My boots are worn with cracked soles
There's not much life left
But on I go, not much choice
Of hope I am bereft

So if you see me travelling on
This highway that's called life
Just pass me by without a word
You don't need my strife

Across my desk a letter came
Was sad to say the least
As I read it slowly it dawned
This letter was meant for me

Dear Sir, it read, I love my Daddy much
But he is gone before I rise
And I'm asleep before he comes home
During the week this is not so bad
You may nod and say
A man must work to earn some bread
To feed his family
But the weekends are all the same
My Daddy's never home
Sometimes I hear my Mummy cry
Like me she misses Daddy so
So I write this letter to you
I hope you know my Daddy
Like you he works for the newspaper
So if you see him, please for us tell
How much we love and miss him

As I read I felt a tear
Trickling down my cheek
Left my desk, hurried home
To be with my family

Tis a tale I must tell for all who will listen
Did happen some time in the dim distant past
This man that came from none knew where
By name introduced as Thomas Geoffrey Last

Clothes that he wore marked him better than most
A man one might say of a station most high
Many weapons of war round his body he wore
For this man peace would not easily pass by

Now it so happened that right at this time
A creature so fierce roamed this countryside fair
Many a warrior had died by it's claws
Tracking this mighty beast back to it's lair

Out went the call that the King would reward
Of this creature most foul his Kingdom to free
Land and gold and titles most grand
And his daughter's hand, a worthy prize all agree

One by one, these men so brave, out they rode
Crowds cheering, trumpets blowing and banners flying
So young, so confident, with stars in their eyes
One by one, out in the forest these men were dying

Gloom settled as the truth became known
That so many had died and none could defeat
This vile creature who had grown ever so bold
Was there no-one who could this beast unseat

Up stepped this man, Thomas Geoffrey Last
For half the Kingdom and the Princess' hand
He would ride forth, guarantee the result
This beast he would not his onslaught withstand

Out he rode at dawn's first light
No crowds, no banners, no trumpets blowing
Behind barred doors and shuttered windows
Despair in this Kingdom had been slowly growing

As the sun rode high in the noonday sky
Sounds so fierce from forest drifted
Out from the forest the stranger rode
In his left hand a head he lifted

None would he tell what transpired that day
That the beast was dead there was no doubting
Word quickly spread and all came to see
Lining the streets cheering and shouting

Thomas Geoffrey Last settled down
With the Princess and half the Kingdom
Legend tells they lived in peace
He ruled with kindness and wisdom

You should be behind my eyes
And see the world as I do
All these things that were so bad
They no longer matter

All this pain that I've gone through
My inside outside twisted
The memories that sharply bite
These purple pills have eased them

I'm ready now to walk the streets
And go back to living
So let me out, unlock the door
Restore to me my freedom

Why is it that you stonily stare
So cold and aloof
Hiding behind your white doctor's coat
No words of comfort given

So let me out I beg of you
I have regained my sanity
No more will people stare and say
He's non compos mentis

In my grave I lie alone
Cold earth all around me
All this time to contemplate
Those deeds I've done so wrongly

Fair maidens hearts that I had broke
Used, abused then dumped them
Some were scarred all their lives
And others decided to end it

Money I took from people poor
With not a thought to their comfort
Left families to starve to death
And left them totally broken

In my quest to gain world power
Wars I conveniently started
As the death toll rose to thousands
Happily I counted my money

Now here I am in my grave
Tis a living hell I'm caught in
Was it worth all the things I'd done
I'd take them back in a second

Heart so red and space that’s blank
Would I add your name? that’s what you said
I’m sorry Dear I can’t do that
Too many times for you my heart has bled

So leave me now and go away
And as I sift through my heart’s debris
What I will write finally comes to me
I will write ‘Yes I am free’

Oh God!!! This incredible pain
Claws raking across my brain
Ripping it, shredding it
Piece by piece splattering on the walls
And as my vision fades
And the last sound I hear
Is the demonic laughter
Of my tormentor
As I am cut off from this world

It has been brought to my attention
There is a poet on here
Who for good reasons shall remain unnamed
Because it's one who is so dear

Their pen flashes this way and that
The words that come are like magic
They make us laugh, they make us cry
Some words are happy and others tragic

You know the one that I speak about
With every write they steal the show
The one that goes by the handle of
........ so there now you know

Sweat dripping from my brow
As I eye this amber liquid
How I yearn to pick it up
And down my throat pour it

Slyly I peek all around
Where was the rightful owner
No money in my kit
There's no way I could buy one

To my right there's two babes
They're drinking lolly water
To my left a nerdy type
Trying to get lucky

Now where I wonder is the owner
It seemed twas no-one here
Itchy fingers slowly reaching
One last look, I grab the beer

A hand around my neck
Lifts me off my stool
"What you doin wif me beer?"
A voice so gruff did growl

Fair dinkum mate, I wet myself
She was all of six foot six
Muscles on muscles and no fat
And whiskers on her chin

I begged and pleaded for my life
I wanted to live longer
Next thing I was in the air
And out the window flying

Now I tell you and it's true
Mate, I've given up drinking
Never again will I risk
To be bounced by a Sheila

From my first waking moment
To the moment I drift off to sleep
It eats at my insides
Like a gnawing rat in deep

Throughout the night I toss and turn
Beneath my cardboard shelter
The cold it seeps into my bones
To battle with my hunger

The colours of the world reduced
To this blackness called hunger
What would I give for one good meal
My soul I'd sell to the devil

My world reduced to black and white
No reds, greens or purples
No pretty colours do I see
Just blackness that is my hunger