Formositas

"Formositas"

Night crept upon them and engulfed their souls
As they trudged deeper into the forest, tripping,
Rich, wet, damp darkness thrust upon them
And on the rocks, they walked wearily, slipping.

Two men lost to a fate no one dared think of.
Eight men kept walking, their guide- fear,
And a child held the hand of a lone woman
Eyes brimming with, but not succumbing to tears.

The child stopped dead in his tracks- curious,
For he saw something shining bright.
At his finger, they followed the beam
To a passage overwhelmed with light.

For a second they stopped to ponder entrance,
Or perhaps by the sudden light, they were blind-
Either way, there was hesitation
Either by their sight or mind.

Not knowing the land on which they tread,
And still fearing possible death,
Craving answers they walked inside
The walls echoing their every breath.

Descending deep into the cavern,
Deep into the un-trodden earth,
They walked for hours Time left unrecorded
Not one questioned new Hope’s worth.

To avoid scaring her child, and perhaps herself,
The woman whistled a familiar tune,
Down they went, tired- weary
And yet the end came too soon.

Darkness again descended,
No one dared turn back.
Surely all doubted salvation,
But none anticipated attack.

A single light they encountered,
With one more hopeful sweep.
Each remembered, by light of a single candle
They had promises of return to keep.

They stood a moment to adjust their eyes,
And contemplate their heart and feet.
But a scarlet regret washed over them
As they saw beauty and horror- both un-beat.

Neither screams nor whispers can they muster
At the sight of the throne
For what they expected to be made of wood
Was deep red marrow and bone.

A woman sat upon the dead
As if it was as normal as the night,
And yet her beauty, by one candle
Shined upon them bright.

White and glistening as winter’s snow,
A porcelain doll was she-
Lips that called them, eyes to stun;
Greater a contrast than heaven could be.

The lone woman, not caught in the trap
Began breathing heavily and fast,
And as the ten and one stood there
The one began at last:

“I am so happy to have some guests
How glad I am to see you
And of the ten that stand before me
I cannot dine with two

“This child must return
He is far too young
And I cannot take his mother
For his life has scarce begun.”

As the two left, the men came about their wits,
Yet as mother and child walked alone-
Forced to find their way back home
For the lady’s beauty, they condoned.

They followed the woman to a dining room,
Tall and fine, with golden forks and plates,
They were relieved and frustrated to see
No sign of evil, or evidence of hate.

They stared at the feast set before them
And thanked god for their seemed salvation,
Entirely forgetting their misfortune and doom
They treated the feast as a celebration.

She presented them with four dark rooms
And left the last with a grin,
One man saw light and death at once
His stomach lurched, his blood ran thin.

As his roommate slept, he heard screams
And though they were faint, terrified was he
And he recalled the layout of where he was
And fought the shrouds, struggling to see.

Two screams- then four, in the stillness of night,
And then two more arose...
And though it was enhanced by dread,
The heavy scent of blood reached his nose.

Fearing death, and wanting to live,
He stealthily fled from this place,
Eventually running, strait and endlessly
The sickness apparent in his face.

The seventh man also lived,
But life came at a great cost-
He lives his life knowing and being
The reason their lives were lost.

And each day he is reminded,
By the twin wounds and his throne...
A newly born vampire in an immortal forest
Sitting on his friend's bones.

I wrote this poem a few months back, and no, I'm not as psychotic or depressed as it might suggest, I just had been reading a few vampire books and figured I'd test my boundaries on poetry and see if I could write an epic poem with a feeling I had never captured before... I think I succeeded!

IDOMAD, 2008