Coming Out Vampire
written by: Carson Wignall
Like everyone else,
I love the sun,
especially after the deep murmuring
of winter,
but I am growing toward myself
like the roots of two neighboring plants
fated to die, at last, as one,
in darkness.
Here my soul casts no shadow—
I am the result of all that failed
to escape.
Widower to the grave,
my eyes compelling my mouth
to drink from the ground’s wounded edges
like a cup.
Each day I wait for night,
a child lingering alongside
his mother
as she smiles, removing each item
of clothing, piece by piece,
to behold his shy form,
while somewhere a murderer finds himself
within his condemned reflection
and laughs.
Everything is tender
beneath it all,
and I’ll tell you a secret:
we all bow our heads
for softer hands
than fate.
- Coming Out Vampire - February 21, 2025
