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