House of Wax
By John Herlihy

As a child most curious,
As a film lover notorious,
My most fervent hope,
Kept as wishful interlope.
My most secret desire,
Furtive fantasies to inspire.
To go deep into the big city,
Old Boston, alluring, pretty.
To go alone, my skills to tax,
To see the film House of Wax.

First walk to town in broken shoes,
To catch the bus feeling the blues,
To the subway at Harvard Square,
Riding in fear on hope and a prayer.
After all I was but just a little tyke,
Only accustomed to ridin’ on my bike.
This was another realm altogether,
Now on my own in stormy weather.
How my heart pounded in my throat,
Adrift as I was like in an open boat.

The subway itself roared thru tunnels,
Dark and mysterious, conical funnels.
I took notice of all that was around me,
Nobody took any notice of little old me.
At Downtown Crossing we did disgorge,
Determined I was my path to forge.
Blood into my heart in a rush surged,
My inner compulsion forward urged.
The glorious film House of Wax waited,
Now at the door of the cinema fully sated.

The cinema in darkness, the lights low,
My head spun about in a phantom glow.
How did I get here awash in such fear,
Only my guardian angel to protect me near.
The film unreeled full of fire and brimstone,
The murdered wax figures standing as stone.
Casting lifelike attitudes for the public to see,
Who knew the truth but the audience and me.
The madman killer proved a notorious fiend,
Grinning unbearably, his lurid face beamed.

The power of film offers the ability to transport,
A ten-year-old child, his fantasies to extort.
The glorious horror of it all, the fear, the thrill,
I watched the end transfixed, I remember it still.
The ghastly wax figures melted in a flaming fire,
Everything burned up, their hair, their attire.
The madman Vincent Price in the end did expire,
The stunned audience rose from their seats to retire.
No one saw the little guy leaving the movie house,
Now safe and sound at home, as quiet as a mouse.
It seemed that in the last few days I suddenly grew;
I had made my way to town, a feat that only I knew.