So Long, Spooks

So Long, Spooks

 

To the Halloween Season, good-bye
Once again! Who’ll be missing it? I.
It should last until June!
(That I’ll be a ghost soon
I cannot, at this late date, deny.)

 

–Tom Riley

 

Werewolf in Love

Werewolf in Love

 

“Are you all right, my lad? I heard you howl.”
The moon is way too distant to embrace.
I’m thinking I should just throw in the towel.
“Are you all right? My lad: I heard you howl.”
I sought to call an existential foul—
But she, serene, maintained her lofty place.
“Are you all right, my lad? I heard you howl….”
The moon is way too distant to embrace.

 

–Tom Riley

 

Tale of a Gorgeous Succubus who Could Cook, Too!

Tale of a Gorgeous Succubus who Could Cook, Too!

 

“Your ghost wife is a cook of sheer perfection!”
“She’s also really something in the sack!”
He boasted, more with triumph than affection.
“Your ghost wife is a cook of sheer perfection,”
The dinner guest repeated. Circumspection
Stayed him from prophesying an attack.
Your ghost wife is a cook of sheer perfection!
She’s also really something in the sack….

 

–Tom Riley

 

Lost in Time

Lost in Time

 

(in memoriam P.S.R.)

 

I sometimes watch old shows – and Quantum Leap
Is very frequently what fills my screen.
Some snobs may find the sci-fi premise cheap,
But I take joy in every single scene.
Scott Bakula is tough but never mean
As Sam, a science brain who has a heart.
Dean Stockwell helps our hero intervene
To save folks through the years. Sam plies the art
Of being someone else, and plays each part
With fervor once he figures out his mission.
He’s mystified, however, at the start.
His puzzlement’s a Quantum Leap tradition.
Mostly to me, though, it’s the thing to view
Because I used to watch it, Mom, with you.

 

–Tom Riley

 

Medium

The Medium

 

Does she conjure the stuff of the dead—
Ectoplasm? Or do ghosts instead
Exploit her and her kind?
Keep this one rule in mind:
Your heart’s deep chill is all in your head.

 

–Tom Riley

Humble Request

Humble Request

 

“The bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever.”

 

Like Adam, I requested just one mate.
Frankenstein found that one request excessive.
His attitude was heartless and aggressive
At last. He started, labored to dilate,
Then cut the project off, inspired by hate.
Only of one small dream was I possessive.
My vengeance, I then swore, would be impressive.
Oh, he had opted for a dismal fate!
Creators have to answer, I maintain,
For what they have created. Mortified
By life infused in body and in brain
Fresh from his hands, he waited – then he cried.
I gave him boundless spiritual pain.
Did I regret my deeds? Ha! Walton lied!

 

–Tom Riley

 

Starving Aesthete

The Starving Aesthete

 

Oh, transport! I am listening to Strauss!
How can I think right now of sucking blood?
That’s the preoccupation of a louse.
Oh, transport! I am listening to Strauss!
Music’s the only fluid in the house
For me! Raised high above mere graveyard mud—
Oh, transport! – I am listening to Strauss.
How can I think right now of sucking blood?

 

–Tom Riley

 

Raise a Spirit

Raise a Spirit

 

Boldly, I raised a spirit from the dead.
He made the same old boring conversation
He had in life. Though warned, I went ahead
Boldly: I raised a spirit from the dead,
One I had known. Did I recoil in dread?
Not at all – but my yawns knew no cessation.
Boldly I raised a spirit from the dead.
He made the same old boring conversation.

 

–Tom Riley

 

Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire

“On adventure I fondly embark!”
Louis said. “Nay, it’s not a mere lark!
This is serious stuff….”
But he learned soon enough:
There was nothing at all but the dark.

–Tom Riley

 

Smooth Talker

Smooth Talker

 

The vampire savior slyly preaches
That death is immortality.
How many hearts his message reaches!
The vampire savior slyly preaches
A satin gospel, free of screeches.
Are we convinced? We seem to be.
The vampire savior slyly preaches
That death is immortality.

 

–Tom Riley