The White Wolf - Grimm

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what does a father do

when his youngest asks for a flower?

 

the father comes across

on his return trip home

the white wolf pacing in the wood

wild flowers crowned upon his head

father askes the white wolf for them

the wild flowers dancing

the white wolf says "only if you promise me the thing 

first seen when you return home"

the father, the king, replies

"certainly" and thinks he is safe

 

oh the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what does a father do

when his youngest asks for a flower?

 

nothing is what he sees on his trip home

until he comes in the gates

to meet his youngest girl

he saddens and thinks a plan

to outwit the white wolf in the wood

to replace her with another

similar in size and shape

thinks the white wolf in the wood

will not notice the deception

 

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what does a father do

when his youngest asks for a flower?

 

the white wolf in the wood sees and knows

he is a clever beast, tricking others he does for fun,

the white wolf returns with the false princess

he hasn't gone far

angry for being deceived in this way

the king, the father, determined not to give up his girl

orders his guards to fight for her

not to let her be taken away

by the white wolf in the wood

 

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what is a father to do

when his youngest asks for a flower?

 

the white wolf of the wood

growls and howls and snarls

demanding his payment for the flower wreath

he has been cheated out of

the king, the father, denies him his right

declaring his love for his daugher overcomes that right

the white wolf howls his outrage

takes down the guards as if they are paper

crumples them and tosses them out

buries his sharp white fangs in the father, the king,

the youngest screams for fright and flees

 

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what is a girl to do

when she fears for her fresh young life?

 

the white wolf of the wood

saddened at his terrible anger

mourns what he has done

what he has to do

yet still goes after the girl to make good the deal

he would never harm her, you see,

but the white wolf of the wood is a wild beast

not used to the people and their ways

or how to get his way without a beast's actions

but a man's words

the girl he thinks is lost to him

in the wood without protection

so he moves on

 

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what is a white wolf to do

when the beast is stronger than the man?

 

the white wolf of the wood

goes to the sun and the stars to find her

but only the moon can seek her

she gifts him a man's skin

and the beast evolves to have both

to take off his white fur is to become the man

to replace it is to become the white wolf

and so he discovers her as man

wins her trust and her heart

and brings her to the white wolf's castle

 

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what is a wolf to do

when the man is the one she trusts?

 

he shows her the truth

of the white wolf in the wood

the white fur is replaced

the white wolf is both the man and the beast

but the girl, the youngest, sees the beast

he removes the white fur to console her

to explain the shadows of his heart

but she will not listen

she does not care

she flees again to the corners of the earth

the white wolf of the wood is saddened

lays down and weeps

the girl, the youngest, learns to love another

the white wolf of the wood dies of heartache,

for he had loved her

 

oh, the wild winds wail

the moon howls and the air stills

what is one to do

when this is the way of the world?

 

 

This poem is about: 
Our world

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