Poetry Corner with Lawrence Spiro: November 2026

Dude the Vampire        by Lawrence Spiro

I am, and do admit that I am of the undead

And I see you lying about and wish to be instead

You think it’s fun and really swell

To be a cool vampire, so what the hell.

You must be young but over twenty-one

I don’t want legal issues. nope, none.

Too much white blood cells give me gas

so 24 hours before don’t eat trash.

If I won’t suck your blood, It’s not you it’s me

I’m sure you’re great company.

But I’m fussy and won’t eat you any-way

“Hey what’s wrong with me?” You say.

You will be special to me as a meal

if you eat blood food with flavor and appeal.

So you know, I don’t like garlic, smelly breath

but you having steak and potatoes thrills me to death.

Please No pastrami and cheese particles to spit out

Let alone chopped liver, onions and sauerkraut.

Your day transitions toward a restive night.

I exist beyond the gates of order and light,

Distress more imminent, loneliness   more real

prostrate before me but there is nothing to steal.

I have the power to loosen the fiend and bind the captive.

You have the power to reject and render me subtractive.

My name is aliraL

My existence is Denial

I have nothing going, nothing to think about, nothing to cry for

nothing planned, can’t do but nothing, hiss and scream more.

I am forever lovelessness

You are being and I am nothingness

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Driven in a Car      by Ethan Bell

I sit in a car and watch the world go by
The trees wave hello beneath the sky
The roads are busy the sounds are loud
But in my seat, I feel safe from the crowd
The buildings pass the sunlight glows
I watch the world move wherever it goes
My mind sees thing others may not see
And through the window I feel free