Vampyrum Spectrum
Night incarnate,
whom none could conquer;
Darkness embodied,
death’s own herald.
Fine fingers spread
into furry wings;
Curved claws tipped
the coal-colored vanes.
Razor-edged teeth
like ceramic knives
Too large by far
for the lipless mouth.
Brow-stars blazing
like bright-burning gledes;
Ears attuned
to echolocation.
A wonder indeed
of the wider world:
The single species
of spectral-bat.