Red Riding Hood

By Sylvester Wong

I walk alone on this forest trail,

shadowed upon by a beast of tale,

With a package to deliver, I cannot fail

Yet its footsteps echo close.

“And where are you going today, my dear?”

said the malicious wolf with a sneer.

I veered around to a hound so near,

with bright green eyes and a smirking leer.

“Through the forest and far beyond here,”

I answered with my voice still clear,

“But a wolf so mere would stand before me,

don’t blink now, for that may be the last you see.”

The wolf then swept its tail of frizz,

the grin upon its face began to cease,

it inched in closer through the mist,

as its lips quivered and muttered these:

“In these woods that I roam free,

comes a threat most strange to me.

You’d be wiser to bend your knees,

and remember who hunts whom in this story.”

I stood still, not about to flee,

as though I was under its mercy,

I stepped in, close enough to kiss,

and these words escaped in a hiss:

“The hunter, the prey, and the roles you say,

define nothing in our way.

I am not one to stray from fray;

This Red Riding Hood is here to stay.”

The beast narrowed its eyes, ablaze,

scrutinising my body, ready to raze,

but I looked forward, clearly unfazed,

and without breaking its gaze, it said:

“Ah, the audacious yearnings of a sheep!

To twist the script, to not be meek.

Yet the ending holds not what you seek,

for I’d be remiss not to remind you, you are weak.”

I lunged at it, beginning the fray,

today, a wolf I will slay,

it’s the tale that I refuse to obey,

and all my fears will be kept at bay.

"Then pray that fate be on your side;

for I have won the day I chose to fight.

I may not match you, but my rebellion will echo far,

so make a move, wolf, and show me how bad you are."

By Sylvester Wong