there are no such things
said the anatomist
experts like myself
know life after death
is an illusion easily explained
by post-mortem events
rigor contracts the muscles
makes the cadaver rise
shrinkage pulls the skin back
from nails and gums
to produce so-called
claws and fangs
the blood running
from the mouth
is simply the corpse
purging itself of fluid
he tapped the body
with the scalpel
here and there
to prove his points
annoyed, I sat up
snatched the intrusive metal
from his hand
that’s quite enough I said
and pulled him down
until my teeth
could reach his neck

Nicki Blake / @strawberrythief is an emerging poet and writer based in Perth, Western Australia. Once upon a year she wrote Honours and Masters dissertations about vampires. It’s a very niche area of expertise so she seizes any chance she can to talk/write about it.