Henry (Shirt and Tie)

Untitled (Vampire Beat poster commission) (2017) Gouache and Watercolour on paper, by Maia Stark

Henry

Shirt and tie, shirt and tie

who walks as though

he owns land on the moon.

Rumpled aristocrat

in his thrift store finery.

People gather

from miles around

just to revel

in his Quixotic charm.

But soon, circumstance

seeps through the cracks

and threatens the peace

of his candle-lit world.

Disillusionment grips him

with uncompromising fingers,

forcing him to see truth

in its most tragic suit.

Broken and ill-equipped

desperation seizes him,

and his quest for magic

makes him

dangerous.