Ode to wolves and bears and furry creatures

The Boss and the Customer stood in a            collapsing 

                      cafe kingdom of crumb covered chairs 

sticky   syrup   tables,

discussing                 Little Red Runner’s wolf-filled fable.

Why’d she jog alone?

Why so early, when

wolves 

with glowing eyes, and empty stomachs

Go prowling?

We could barely see     over        the counter, so

                      couldn’t     confirm        if a 

belly belching, booger green                 Ogre                 had replaced the            Boss.

But we saw the Bear.

We said, 

Hello,         over the stench of rotting pink salmon, and

What do you want,          and

What can we give you today?

The Bear    asked us for     flowers,        still hidden and budding, twitching 

black nose      groping         for a                   whiff of what              hadn’t   yet    bloomed.

The Bear         asked          if we wanted to           taste       his honey,   promising it was 

slicker

                                      than the gold gloop appeared.             We laughed, brittle as 

bleached bone. 

The Bear       inquired       if we had a     

         Prince Charming,                   replied we had a

Huntsman who                               voted for open carry.        

                          The Bear laughed, 

white        tombstone         teeth          shining. 

The Bear             eyed up          

            fat                      cherry pastries, gooey fruit 

    dribbling                 down              hot,        like Little Red Runner’s sweatpant-clothed  

     goodies.

                                 Mr. Wolf

  rooted       in her                     wicker basket.

                          Furry paws

      reaching towards  us 

across the counter.       

Little Red Runner 

felt   sharp Claws 

curving            down                         her spine,    so   did she 

                  howl?


ABOUT TEAGAN

Since she was a babbling baby, Teagan Rose Mary Durkin has been after books to read and stories to write. A published author with short stories in three anthologies and several literary journals, Teagan is a Franklin and Marshall College student, and studies English Creative Writing and Anthropology, with a French minor. Along with classes, she writes, photographs, and edits for numerous campus publications, and has interned for Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC https://www.dystel.com/ publishing company. Outside of pen and paper, Teagan also enjoys embroidery; all of her jeans now have sunflowers, poppies, and vines sprouting from the pockets.

instagram: @teagan_durkin

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