I found hope near a dumpster one day
It was in a dilapidated box
Whose corrugated walls were stained
Wrinkles adorned the once firm cube

This was an ordinary box, like any other
It’s draw was extraordinary though
Impulses gave way to senseless action
Hands caressed the look of cracked leather

The box, far from empty, held many items
boxes within boxes, to my astonished delight,
my wonder at the contents I've yet to explore
who had discarded this battered treasure trove

I gathered it up, quickly walking home
to explore the contents at my leisure in privacy
on my way, I ran into my next-door neighbor
who spied the beat-up box, smiling he asked

Where did you find such a thing
I smiled secretively and continued on
My neighbor following me
Every step of the way

He stood behind me while I lifted the lid
As I pulled back the nearly disintegrated paper
My neighbor laughed and said,
Be careful, you have no idea what may be inside

When the lid was removed,
Inside the mystery was revealed,
What was in that very box,
Simply, a chest of wood.

No ordinary chest this was,
It would not just open,
A puzzle that had to be solved,
To reveal the true secrets hidden

The puzzle was difficult and took time to solve
I worked many nights with resolute resolve
When I finally opened it I saw to my surprise
A stake that could only be used at sunrise

I could not believe what the papers said
The spot of the coffin that held the undead
Started my bloody mission to use the pointed wood
To stop of the spread of the undead if I could

The stake set aside, I studied the map--
found it on Google, zoomed into street view:
'tween tattered tenements is a small vacant lot,
strewn with old tires and a mattress or two.

So that's where it is, in the worst part of town--
where your watch and your wallet are always at stake;
where pickpockets and pimps and their charges abound;
where a contract for murder is easy to make.

Within one alley I sensed...something
and found I was bound to seek its source
to determine what this feeling might bring.
I expected bid tidings of course.

So into the ally I carefully tread
as rats and black cats scurried away
each step bringing increasing dread
as deep shadows chase the sun away.

Clutching in my hands mallet and stake
hesitant advance not knowing my fate
I noticed my hands starting to shake
until I came upon a rectangular crate

Worn and faded the wood seemed to be
I wondered and pondered it then
Should I do what they say, why is it me?
I went over the message again

Now I'm no scaredy-cat, but vampires and such
Are just bit out of my line
Was it a joke played by a man out of touch
Who drank a little too much wine?

The shadows lengthened as I stood contemplating
I couldn't make up my mind
Awww shit, I said, as I stood there shaking
Bet there's nothing here to find

And there was my hope
in a bottle of wine
In a box from a box
With a stake I shall dine

Then dream of the succubus
draining her dry
join the real world
I’m a vamp - I can fly!