Lessons From Little Red Riding Hood

There are wolves to kill.
They will lie to you. They will
tell you they are trustworthy
and appear to you as family
but stop. Look closely.
Your grandmother doesn't have teeth like that.

Send little girls off into the woods.
Give them a basket full of baked goods
and make them go walking alone.
If you don`t, then, when they are grown
they will be timid women, paralyzed by choices,
startled at the sound of their own voices.
They will push down the power
that swells up inside them,
the power to kill wolves,
the power to distribute bread.