Footsteps in the Dark

I step along the alleyways of my city,
One foot in front of the other,
A cat prowling the night.
Only I'm not looking for a mouse to placate
My insatiable hunger.
The thrill of the chase seeps into my
Old, old bones.
I feel young again,
Almost as young as I appear.
I feel alive again.

I stop, frozen in time
As a young woman, a girl, steps near my alley.
I see her young face in the glow of flame
As she stops and lights a cigarette.
No 3-on-1-match tonight,
But unlucky for her nonetheless.
She glances up, seeing nothing.
Am I really here?
I step into the pool of light
Under the streetlamp.
She turns to look at me,
With a smile.

I return the smile,
With a charm she can't resist,
An offer she can't refuse,
A snake in the grass seducing the mouse.
Like the snake I coil myself around her,
Drag her back into the dark,
Sink my fangs into her tender throat,
And feed.

The visions come fast and warm with the blood
Feeding my mind, my tattered soul,
While giving life to my unliving limbs.
I see her life, as she must have been,
Before I came to snatch her from her cradle.
I see my life, as it must have been,
Before another came to snatch me from my grave.

My repast done, I lift off.
Tattered cloak like wings,
Soaring high over my city,
My night.