My grandson says a wolf lives in our car.
He is invisible, Trin explains. And I hate him.
He wants to eat me.
The wolf says ‘stupid,’ which Trin is not
Allowed to say. The wolf is sarcastic,
Ebullient. Fearless. Trin is not.
Perhaps I need a wolf, I think. An alter ego
To remind me what is possible: courage
And a sense of the absurd.
The wolf did it, Trin tells me, when
He kicks the back of my seat.
This is what I will say when asked
About my own deviance:
The wolf did it.
Just this.
Wonderful contrasts here: courage – absurd, Sarcastic, ebulliant, fearless — those which are not. It’s about who we are, taught to be, think we are. Perhaps this is also about what we don’t know about ourselves quite yet. Trin is young, but the wolf seems quite a bit world-wise. I read this over and again, just like I seek out new versions of fairy tales (which I then read over and again). I love them best when they are set in the woods, talk about the “dark” unkinown within ourselves. . . .
This is terrific! Such density of narrative and idea!
I love the back and forth … ‘which Trin is not’ … and how at the end you want to be all that. But mostly, stepping back, I love the relationship between the two generations. It is so evocative and more … how much we have to learn from them! Today’s Writer’s Almanac poem touches on the same theme: check it out! “The New Criticism” by Paul Hostovsky. http://writersalmanac.org/?utm_campaign=The+Writer%27s+Almanac_20170808&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc_Newsletter&utm_content=The%20Writer's%20Almanac%20for%20August%208,%202017
And thank you for your words!!!
So fierce in the face of quiet determination: I love this dark tale that is almost a fairy tale. I think we each need a wolf of our own so that we may become aware of the tiny pieces of wild determination within us!