A stitch past nine on borrowed time,
memories come rushing back

The Wolf is feasting in Grandma’s bed,
Red Riding Hood a snack

A Cow gets ready to jump again,
but the moon drops from the sky

Humpty Dumpty a mess on the floor,
Tweedle-dum starts to cry

The candle burns for Jack’s last jump,
a quickening funeral pyre

The stepmother screams, Cinderella hides,
her daughter’s dress on fire

Little Jack Horner abandons his corner,
curds harden and whey runs aground

As Mother Goose watches the Grimm Brothers die
—not a child in sight to be found

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)