A Company of Wolves
By marandina
- 4806 reads
Audio version at https://soundcloud.com/user-62051685/a-company-of-wolves-mp3
A company of Wolves
Orange-fire sun arcs lower,
twilight creeps in shadows,
pines hang heavy with snow,
bushes flash red with berries.
High castle straddles the horizon,
verdant green forest at its feet,
lone wolf howls from distant trees,
roe-deer blinks, turns and flees.
A little girl wearing red skips,
weaves through misty woods,
silent holly rustles, she brushes,
knocking apples from her basket.
Now she sees the log cabin,
hidden in its cavern of copse,
crumbling footprints form a path,
a winter robin sings close by.
As the door is gently knocked,
silence broken, faint echoes resound,
ingress of wood creaks opens,
old woman in rags bids welcome.
In the corner sits a yule tree
wearing tinsel, baubles as a coat,
and seated all around a table
are a company of wolves grinning.
She smiles, sits and
joins them.
Image free to use at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Riding_Hood#/media/File:Little_...
- Log in to post comments
Comments
Wonderful. Love it. :)
Wonderful. Love it. :)
- Log in to post comments
BRILLIANT PAUL,
Just love this tale, captures a completely different ending to Little Red Riding Hood. Very inspiring too, with the misty wood.
Very much enjoyed reading.
Jenny.
- Log in to post comments
A happy resolution for a girl
A happy resolution for a girl easily led astray and for the wolves, animals often much maligned.
Best, Luigi
- Log in to post comments
A great twist on a well known
A great twist on a well known tale.
- Log in to post comments
Spectacular
Such a wonderful and inspired take on this fairy tale that I absolutely loved reading.
- Log in to post comments
Lovely sentimental
Lovely sentimental description of the walk, but quite a shock ending. Is it really meant to be a happy ending, or left equivocal? Rhiannon
- Log in to post comments
This wonderful retelling is
This wonderful retelling is our Pick of the Day. Do share on Facebook and Twitter.
- Log in to post comments
Brilliant piece!
I love the structure and the unexpected twist in the ending.
- Log in to post comments
I liked this very much :0) Is
I liked this very much :0) Is kind of how I feel about seagulls, it is lovely to read something where the hated and feared are seen as belonging, welcoming. I liked your build up with the walk, too, giving the idea that to like something as bad as wolves you must go far out of the normal world, somewhere without any neighbourhood watch :0) And it all seems colour saturated and clear as an expressionist painting
- Log in to post comments
This is great Paul.
This is great Paul.
Very well chosen words to conjure up the atmosphere of the wintry forest and an ending to keep us wondering.
Good on you!
Turlough
- Log in to post comments
Oh, wonderful - the gradual
Oh, wonderful - the gradual build-up of imagery, the dread from allusion to the earlier tale, and the surprise at the end!
- Log in to post comments
I love the retelling of folk
I love the retelling of folk tales. This is a great ending to the familiar story. As the old woman opens the door, all seems as we expect it to be, and then such a lovely twist at the end. The descriptive language is wonderful, too. Very well deserved POD.
- Log in to post comments
a company of wolves, you make
a company of wolves, you make me want to join them too.
- Log in to post comments
Hi, marandina,
Hi, marandina,
An interesting retelling of ages old tale. Maybe wolves aren't that bad after all ! Lovely language throughout, Paul.
hilary
- Log in to post comments
I had to go back and read a
I had to go back and read a slightly older one of yours. This was pretty cool. Interesting little twist for a poem.
GGHades502
- Log in to post comments