Girl wears red lips
stained with beets.
Boy hits rhythm thick like tar on forest floor
with stick.
Boy and sword.
Boy and stick.
Girl watches beet stain melt
on windowpane.
Girl squeezes skin of stomach
into tongue-tied corset.
Deep breath wheeze. Breasts pile on chest.
Girl don’t feel good
rest of the day.
Boy touches small of girl’s back
while dancing at ball.
Girl does not even feel: corset too tight.
Boy mistakes breathless
for love.
Girl run far far away. Wear red hood. Talk to stranger with long hair: huntsman.
Huntsman find her pretty
but she saves her own life.
They forget this part.
They forget this part.
Girl too out of breath
to correct them.
