“Gloomy Hike 2” Photo by Alan Dursee, Class of 2022
Grizzly Hood
by Derek Matarazzo, Class of 2021, Poetry
Little Red Riding Hood, not dressed in red
Garbed in black, her mother is dead
A wolf had killed her, gobbled her up
So Red set out, to go find the pup
She passed through the forest, the flowers and berries
As once as a girl, they made her merry
The berries were red, like the blood in her veins
But no number of berries, would dull the pain
For the berries were poisonous, and muddled the senses
A perfect bait, to capture her nemesis
So she gathered them up, along with some wine
And laid out a trap, for the wolf to come dine
But no wolf came, only deer and a rabbit
Red was patient, but she’d about had it
She stomped down the berries, and smashed in the wine
And set out with the bottle, a knife, and some twine
She tracked through the forest, the wolf’s clues left behind
Its footprints and ripped fur, a trail oh so fine
So Red tracked and traced, and raced through the forest
And came face to face, with a bear so boorish
It stampeded at Red, froth at the mouth
But Red was fast, nimble as a mouse
She fought with the bear, hand to hand, tooth and claw
She stabbed with the bottle, forced the beast to a draw
Until the bear tripped, its paws were too large
And crashed into the trees, like a moving ship or a barge
Red finished him off, a merciful end
She prayed for its peace, and to heaven ascend
Red went on, finding fur and blood
She found a trail, filled with thorns and mud
Red trekked through the trail, getting torn, getting tattered
Till she found the wolf, even more battered
It was wounded and worn, it wouldn’t survive
“A chance!” Red thought, revenge had arrived
But a small bark came, from behind Little Red
A brave little pup, soon to be dead
It was small and weak, and extremely hungry
But it didn’t want Red, just her to leave in a hurry
For it knew of the grudge, between Red and its mother
And would not allow her, to die like its brother
This was conveyed, to Red in his eyes
And Little Red stopped, and dropped down and cried
She cried for her mother, and for the pup too
But she resolved herself, to do what she had to do
She raised the knife, above the beast’s head
But the little pup’s whimper, filled her with dread
Would she take away its mother, just like her’s, the beast?
She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, for the dead stay deceased
She looked at the pup, then back at the mom
It huffed and it puffed, as weak as a fawn
Red decided to help her, the mother she couldn’t
And healed the wolf’s wounds, though she found it impudent
An unwise decision, to help a killer
Until the pup barked, and had run thither
He nuzzled his mom, then looked at Red
And let out a yip, for his mother wasn’t dead
The wolf raised its head, its wounds had been bandaged
No blood on its maw, on the grin that it managed
And just like the pup, it met with Red’s gaze
And conveyed the truth, about the past days
The wolf was not the culprit, of the late Miss Hood’s death
A bear was the criminal, that forced her to rest
And then Red realized, her revenge had been done
She had killed the bear, but felt nothing, just none
Her rage and sadness, could not be contained
And she cried with the wolves, until she was drained
But then she got up, with the wolves at her side
And she returned to the bear, and scavenged its hide
She made a new cloak, with the skin of the beast
And went back home, with its meat for a feast
The wolves had stayed, and made Red’s mood good
Now everyone knows the tale, of the wolves and Grizzly Hood