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Friday 29 June 2012

Blood Red Riding Hood




If you had wandered in the woods at dawn
you might have seen Red Riding Hood
stumbling from its darkest heart
(which ordinary folk have never seen),
snatched at by thorn and tangled undergrowth,
out into the lightening of the Muntjac Glade,
the covered basket safe upon her arm.

You never would have found, for all your looking,
her granmama's small hovel, hidden well,
or seen her granmama, exhausted from her hunting,
pulling  off her boots and tumbling into bed -
the blood still dripping from her furry jowl.
Nor would you likely see the corpse trail she has left,
a train of wanton killing through the woods.

Not until Red Riding Hood knocks on her door
and granmama is calling  Enter dear!
would you have tumbled to what's taking place.
Soon though, you'll catch the scent of features
that your eyes, so innocent, have failed to see:
the lupus-lykos-gorge-stuff-gobble-bolt
of granmama beneath the counterpane.

And Granmama for her part will not see
the massacre the basket represents: the scores
of furry creatures that lie dead, torn limb
from limb, decapitated, butchered, stuck with pins.
She'll not have guessed the way The Red Witch wove
her dark spells from the basket's tortured flesh
to change  her form from granmama to wolf.
.........................................................................
Written in response to Ella's prompt for Poetry United's Think Tank #103: Fractured Fairy Tales at:  http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.co.uk/

11 comments:

Mary said...

Oh, this is brutal, Dave. It gives me chills and is one I don't want to contemplate too long.

Brian Miller said...

dang you went vivid...ha....the mangled animals in the basket, shivers...tight man...

Daydreamertoo said...

LOL Talk about fractured fairy tale!... they sound as if they are BOTH evil.
Very vividly gory and dark.
Nice stroy Dave, just don't read it to any kids. haha.

rch said...

Love the last two lines of the third verse, and a great twist at the end!

Carl said...

Wow. Wow Wow. That is a Wild take on the Red Riding Hood story.

Kevin Routh said...

Awesome take on Red Riding Hood! Truly a fractured fairy tale.
I also put a twist on the Red riding Hood story this week... :)

Rachna Chhabria said...

A great take on Red Riding Hood. Enjoyed it!

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Dave,

From the very start of reading this poem, I realised it was the post-9pm watershed version. A taste of Stephan King about the ensuing events.
A fantastic new tale has been truly spun:)

Eileen

Dave King said...

Mary
Fair enough, I understand that.

Brian
Hot, humid day, thought blood running cold would make a pleasant change!

Daydreamertoo
Well, the traditional story is pretty dark - or I always found it so, with that scary build up What big eyes you've got! etc, etc. But I guess it's true, if ever I decide to kick over the traces, I do tend to go the full hog - if I may also mix my metaphors!

rch
Thanks for mentioning those lines. I was especially keen to know how they would be received.

Carl
Mmmm, it's from the untamed part of me.

Kevin
Hi, Welcome. Good to have your comment. Thanks for.

Rachna
Much thanks for this comment. Appreciated.

Eileen
I am flattered to be mentioned in the same breath as my namesake. Thank you very much for the honour! Really pleased to know you liked it.

Ygraine said...

How I adore the dark, Gothic World you've led me into here, Dave.
It really sent shivers down my spine!
How did you know I was addicted to tales of horror? :D Hehehe

Sarav said...

You certainly know how to twist a tale (tail? )
Grisly and well done!