Frankenstein and Dracula

by flammeusgladius

Frankenstein and Dracula

 

(for Ev Parker)

 

Kids today find those movies comical.

Having known only bottomless excess,

The young reserve no room in chest or skull

For hints to which the fearful blood says yes.

I love our creaky classics nonetheless—

And know there’s something there to understand:

The monster who, once made, must make a mess;

The vampire’s irresistible command.

From such small launching pads do we expand

To crowd the terrified imagination

With complications of the horror brand

And dark extensions of each complication.

Beyond that screen it waits, unending night.

I always liked it best in black and white.

 

–Tom Riley