The streets of old London are shrouded in fog
Like the catarac wasted eyes of an old man
I walk the night alone and fearless
the frozen air clings to me like a dead lover

I am not a candidate for crime.
Those who roam these streets after dark
Know better than to steal from me
I am notorious, feared.  A creature of the night.

So when I see you birthed from the haze
A small smile enlivens my face, you are easy prey.
A sweet little thing, all umbrellas and petticoats
The night is no place for you
Your beauty makes a mockery of the shadows

I approach, as curious as a cat.
My eyes amused as you emerge into clarity
And you turn that soft young face to mine
And smile a Cheshire cat smile
Which does not ever reach your eyes.

My smile falters and dies on my face
I stumble, my confidence lost; bravado shattered
You move slowly like a tiger on the prowl
I turn to run but I am far too late
You are on me in a heartbeat

Funny how you notice the little things
As you face your final moments.
I notice the absence of breath
As your lips slide across my neck.
I notice my hardness, as your tongue
Presses on my skin.
I try and cry out
as your teeth pierce flesh

The rapturous thunder of my heartbeat
Rattles through my brain
As your hungry, jealous lips closed on my throat
I listened to the rhythm of my life
Beating on deaths drum

I will never know your reason
For turning me that shrouded night
Or ever know your motive for pulling me back from the light
And creating the monster which wears my skin

For now you lie staked and pinned, frozen in the little death.
I was yours, so long ago and now you are mine
I will not spare you, for you did not spare me
But I will set you free.
A phantom in flesh for so many years,
I will not shed tears for you

Instead, I press my lips to your wrist and bite
The pinprick wounds your exit from this 'life'.
I gaze at those hate-filled eyes of yours
As they bulge in rage and terror
At the press of my lips to your skin.
This final, gentle kiss.