Goldilocks & Gretel
fairy tale poetry with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Hello, Poetry Friend
We’re continuing our journey of reading and writing through Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s collection Naked for Tea, which has two fairy tale poems: “After the Bear Incident” (which is in the free Kindle sample) and “Gretel Explains Herself.”
Fairy tales are ripe for reinvention. We all know them, so we can change the perspective or fiddle with the ending. Trommer’s poem about Goldilocks addresses perfectionism. Since I don’t struggle so much with that particular vice, I went with the one about Gretel, a girl flirting with danger.
Gretel Explains Herself
All those crumbs I left
on the path, it’s not
that I want to go back,
it’s just that I happen to like
wild birdsong wherever I go.
–Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerIs Goldilocks or Gretel calling your name? Maybe it’s the bears or Hansel or that witch who makes such delicious treats. The fairy tale character who called out to me was Snow White (because once I got to play her for one song in a community theater production of Into the Woods). My poem, in which she explains herself, is over at my website.
Poetry Journal
Read both Trommer’s Goldilocks poem and the Gretel poem. Is one of them calling you to write your own in response? Or is another fairy tale leaving you a trail of breadcrumbs?
Jot down what you notice, what you like, what you don’t, what questions you have, and at least one way in which the poem speaks to your soul.
Read the poem you chose again, aloud (if you didn’t the first time). How does it work? How can you use Trommer’s form to make it work for you?
Write your own poem using a fairy tale. If you like, email me what you write.
Take care,
Megan
"Goldilocks Dyes Her Hair"
.
All that gold meant
they watched
every last move I made
.
from porridge
to chair
to bed.
.
I'm changing my hair
to red,
.
blending with the autumn
flare of crimson,
.
where I can try every
pirouette of the wind,
every word—said and
unsaid ... underfoot ...
and overhead.
Reversed Roles
What if the roles were reversed?
Was Big Bad Wolf cursed?
Little Red Riding Hood the villain
On a mission to do some killin’.
Wolf on the run for his life
Not knowing why he deserved this strife.
Red’s gun primed to take him down
She’s counting on Wolf being found.
She’s closing in to make the kill
But wait…Wolf is frozen with fear, still
He asks,”What have I done,
To cause me to be on the run?”
Red replies with confidence, no doubt
“I’m not sure what this is about!
I just thought a wolf is to be hunted.”
Wolf replies, undaunted and confronted,
“If we do not know from whence this came
Perhaps it is time to stop this game.”
Both pondered this revelation anew,
Decided to try a different view.
They shook hands, made a pact
Vowed to keep their friendship intact.
So for now the story goes
As one can suppose
That Wolf is the villain
On a mission to do some killin’
But how can we really know
If this is the way the story should go!
By Sharmen Oswald