Actrise Poem by Justin Gildow

After making my way out of Dracula's underground
You wait for me in a room with sunlight dimming
through a few of the windows in here
Fans are slowly turning as well

Dressed elegantly in a black dress with red trim
A hat with jewels and a feather
Lovely earrings
Fingernails painted blood red
And carrying a large scepter in your hands
You look beautiful but somehow you seem to make
my skin crawl
I can tell there's something dark about you
Something evil
Something sinister
You make me uneasy

You introduce yourself to me as Actrise
And you tell me you're a witch
You also tell me that you're loyal to Dracula
And that you serve him as well
Which makes my mouth go dry
And my skin go chalk white

You tell me you're surprised that I made it
this far
And that I have a strong spirit
But you tell me that I won't survive in this evil
castle

You ask me to quit my journey
And join the side of darkness and evil
But I quickly refuse

You tell me that you'll give me time
Time to consider my choices of whether
or not I stay on the side of good
Or go to the side of evil with you and Dracula
You tell me that you'll be waiting for me
Awaiting our next encounter

And with those last words
You fade away and disappear

Staring around and finally collecting my thoughts
of what has just transpired
I can tell that there's a sense of dread within me
But also an intense fire
And an intense will to succeed

Needless to say
I look forward to our next encounter, Actrise
But it won't be of what you think
Or what you would've hoped
That much I can assure you