It’s true:


            I
            almost
            never

smile,
            but
            that
            doesn’t
            mean

I’m
            not
               in
            love:
            my
            heart

is
            that
            black
            violin

played
            slowly.
            You
            know
            that

moment
            late
            in
            the
            solo

when
            the
            voice

is
            so
            pure
               you
            feel

the
            blood
            in
            it:
            the
            wound

between
            rage

and
            complete
            surrender.
            That’s

where
            I’m
            smiling.
            You
            just

can’t
            see
            it—
           the
            sound

bleeding
            perfectly

inside
            me.
            The
            first
            time

I
            killed
            a
            vampire
               I
            was

sad:
            I
            mean

we
            were
            almost

family.

But
            that’s

so
            many
            lives

ago.
            I
            believe

in
            the
            cry
            that
            cuts

into
            the
            melody,
            the
            strings

calling
            back
            the
            forgotten
            world.

When
            I
            think
            of
            the
            madness

that
            has
            made
            me
               and
            the
            midnight

I
            walk
            inside—
           all
            day
            long:

when
            I
            think
            of
            that

one
            note
               that
            breaks

what’s
            left
            of
            what’s

human
            in
            me,
            man,

I love    everything