Renfield: A Poem

Author:: Veronica McDonald

Veronica has poetry and short stories published in several literary journals. She holds an MA in Literature from American University.

renfield-a-poem — Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Introduction

This poem is a part of a series of secular poetry I wrote when I first converted to Christianity from atheism/agnosticism, back in the summer of 2016.

I've always gravitated towards "dark" writing that doesn't quite cross into Horror, and as a Christian I've become even more fascinated by the battle between light (good) and darkness (evil). The only difference is that now, the "darkness" frustrates me rather than fascinates me. There is no hope there.

I chose the character Renfield from Bram Stoker's Dracula because I feel like he reflects most of us in a grotesque way. He tries to obtain life by consuming it, but this leads him on a trail of madness further and further into the darkness. It's a fruitless journey that leads to nothing but destruction. The real answer is not to consume life, but rather find and obtain the light of the world (Jesus Christ).