for want of a wolf 

for want of a wolf
she wore a red thong
& shaved her legs
in the creek--
nicked her heel
& blood trickled
up stream with
maroon & 
burnt orange leaves

grandmother's house
was a highway--
a back seat--
a crystal jar of 
strawberry hard candies--
grandmother's house was
a wooden pew &
a stained glass window
& a mug full of hot milk
for want of a wolf
she stuck her hand
out the car wind to
catch racing air

her mother told
(her like all mothers
tell their red children)
to never hitchhike--
to stay in the backseat 
& never wear thongs
because they make
you a slut 

for want of a wolf 
she opened the back door 
roll out onto 
hot asphalt highway--
stuck out her thumb

for want of a wolf
she wore a red thong 

& the maple trees were so
embarrassed that they 
got naked for her--
spilled their leaves--
wrote love poems on
each one before they
fell-- wrote sonnets
about her razor burn legs

wrote elegies
wrote prayers

for want of a wolf
she hitchhiked to 
grandmother's house--

her grandmother's
house 
past 7/11
past Limerick Diner
& past tall blinking
radio towers sending
distress signals 
to God-- God who
fills his ears 
with clouds

for want of a wolf
she ate cake from
her basket-- drank
the wine & bled purple
closed her eyes 
& day dreamed about
what fangs would
feel like against her
pink skin

& her grandmother
was very very strange
like all grandmothers 

oh what big 
eyes, 
ears,
mouth you have

oh what big
erotic teeth--

all the better
to eat me with--

the inside of a wolf
is warm-- 
is quiet 
& throbbing & full of
so much blood 

for want of darkness
for want of heartbeat
for want of a lonely body
she rested

she thought of radio
towers & how she
had never been good 
at praying 
she thought for
the first time of her
father & wondered
if he had ever
been a wolf or a highway
or a basket full of 
wine & cake

the hunter's axe
is always the first
one responsible for blood

for want of a wolf 
he cut open her grandmother
but he saw she was wearing
a thong
so he filled them
both with stones--
the girl & the wolf

river stones--
smooth & heavy 

each one down their
throats like lead
tongue kisses

he weighed them down
so they could never move

from grandmother's house
her house
past 7/11 & red light
radio towers

& God pretended not
to listen

they lay 

statues 
with

erotic teeth 
&
her red 
red 
thong