When Christina’s not looking
I steal the straw
from her seltzer
before happy hour’s fake
cheeriness.

I tell Christina
it’s for D.N.A.
To clone her and she
sorta smiles like one might
during a horror movie.
Where the zombies are
too slow, the Vampires
romantic and mummies
unravel their mystery
faster than whiskey
making even a genius
appear foolish…

as a vulture
mistaking sleeping
rednecks
for fair game
missing the always
live finger on
the trigger.

---

Rp Verlaine, a retired English teacher living in New York City, has an MFA in creative writing from City College. He has several collections of poetry including Femme Fatales Movie Starlets & Rockers (2018) and Lies From The Autobiography 1-3 (2018-2020).