Once upon a...

NO!

That's not how they always go.

 

"Slaughter and feast!"

This was the code I grew by,

"Be the beast!"

Why should I?

Try as I might, I felt beaten,

After all, the world is eat or be eaten.

 

My mentality changed,

I learned hunger,

My psychology rearranged,

I was wrong when I was younger,

My priority is chasing meat,

A wolf should never face defeat.

 

This won the approval of my peers,

However, I always had a nagging thought,

What if one day it appears?

The human that exposes my weak spot.

"Foolish, nobody could!"

Little did I know, it would come in a bright red hood.

 

Famished, I prepared for a hunt,

There was an old lady who lived alone,

She would be easy to confront,

I decided to complete this kill on my own.

But who else would I find in my path,

Than a girl in a bright red hood, who will face my wrath.

 

"Hello!", she sung

I greeted her back.

She was sweet and young,

Could I make her a snack?

She was on her way to her grandmother's house.

I could catch the pair as easily as hunting a mouse.

 

Mentally, I faced a conflict,

It is time to change?

I just don't want to be treated like a convict,

This new mentality was strange.

I followed Little Red Riding Hood,

But eat her? I don't think I could.

 

I only seek acceptance,

I want to change my ways,

I am now in repentance,

I will live differently my remaining days,

I have changed my plans,

No more people will suffer in my hands.

 

Little Red Riding Hood supported,

Bless her childlike magnanimity,

To Grandmother's house I was escorted,

An inner revolution was in proximity,

"Here goes nothing", I knock,

Grandmother came out, jaw dropped in shock.

 

Little Red Riding Hood became my voice,

And an eloquent one too,

I resisted the urge to rejoice,

As my feelings freely flew,

And Grandmother, though skeptical at first,

Understood that my old ways had reversed.

 

We compromised,

I kept Grandmother company in return for her care,

I was revitalized,

Life was no longer an abhorrent affair.

Little Red Riding Hood made my life worth living,

I am indebted to her for her kindness and forgiving.

 

The agreement from that day,

resulted in me living truly happily since.

Little Red Riding Hood frequently came to play,

Allowing me to evince,

This time unbeaten,

That there is more to life than eat or be eaten.