(no subject)

[hapticbackup]

SHE HAS SEEN THE WOLF

Not all who howl
are wildbeasts. Some caress us
gently in our bones,
slip into our beds
and tear our hearts out.
In the best version
Little Red eats her grandmother
cubed and cooked in wicker
to pull out the toughness
seasoned appropriately. Maybe innocence
is a cloak–filtered through fur,
dragged through the woods–
that lets us pretend
a glass of blood is red wine.

-Janani Balasubramanian