Sunday, June 12, 2011

Rose Red to Snow White

A dark wind batters the door,
our minds unchink as
the chimney roars and the eaves
shriek in their rusty dreams.

Huddle by the fire, sister,
something is snapping in the applewood
and sparks ignite our nightgowns.
let us save each other.
Let us marry these ashes.

Don't leave the comfort we've found
for that rap on the doorjamb.
God knows who'd be out
on such a night in a blizzard
like this one. Have no pity
on travelers far from town
in this fierce weather.

But you've unlatched us,
let a whirlwind of white flakes
confuse our destinies
and succored a brute of fur
whose snout embeds
in your fabulous hair.

A thorn stabs
my red heart
as you lie down
with the great bear
bringing him to life
with your white body.

How can you be sure
he'll turn at last into something
noble, that he won't always
raid your breasts for honey
or sleep grunting all winter?

Wisconsin Review. Collected in The Lonely Hearts Killers by Joan Colby. Spoon River Poetry Press. Also anthologized in Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairytale Poetry.

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