One night I returned to the metallurgical lab after maintenance worked on the air conditioning. They'd left a ceiling panel ajar, and from the darkness beyond, I heard a sound like raspy breathing. Alone in the office because I was the only technician on duty, I hesitated before I walked under the opening, thinking, "In horror movies, this is where the monster drops down out of the ceiling behind its victim." After I worked up courage to continue to my desk, I wrote this "poem."
Midnight in the Met Lab
Vampires live in the Met Lab attic.
I know. I've heard them there
When I come in late at night
And catch them unaware.
I've heard their raspy breathing
As they lurk up in the dark,
Prowling through the ducts and pipes
To find an easy mark.
I've heard their footsteps slowly
Treading down the hall,
Past perchloric acid
And ISO butanol.
I don't know why they spare me
As I tremble all alone here.
Perhaps no one's told them
Type O's the universal donor.
copyright 2011
Loved it!
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