Jo Balistreri
Red
Talking to the wolfbear was fun at first, but Gramma was waiting for her. And then something… like the way he kept inching closer, his insistence that he knew a better way. She kept backing up; he kept coming closer. She recognized that breath, that awful smell her dad had when drunk. She heard the growling irritation too and started to turn. He grabbed the edge of her cape, ripping it. She ran as fast as she could, fear and ragged breathing tearing—
The bartender asks if she wants another round.
“No, no thanks,” she says, sliding off the stool, suddenly aware of how far away she’s been. “Time to get goin’.” She walks toward the rain-swollen door.
“You drive careful now.”
The squish of her boots in the muddy parking lot sounds loud in her ear. Climbing into the cab she starts the engine, finally settling into the calm monotony of the wipers’ steady pace. Taking the road out of Kalispel, she muses on this wind-swept place, chosen when she married a Montana sheep farmer. Stubbing the nub of her cigarette into the ashtray, she recalls a saying—fate is destiny—and realizes… she’s still fighting wolves. Too bad she married one.
winter wheat
that reddish glow, field after field
ripening
About the Author
Jo Balistreri began her creative life as a pianist and harpsichordist. In 2005, she began writing free-verse poetry after losing her hearing and her ability to play music, and in 2015 registered for a mentoring program through the Haiku Society of America. She has since published widely and in 2019 was included in A New Resonance 12. http://maryjobalistreripoet.com/
Terrific!
Awesome lines such as:
“she’s still fighting wolves.”
and
“Too bad she married one.”
And that Red (title) not only connects to the haiku, but makes me think of Red Riding Hood.
Hi Mary Jo,
So happy to find your writing here. Love the brevity of the title, the way the final haiku repeats it in an unexpected way, and the details like stubbing out her cigarette in the ashtray.
Congratulations