"The rougarou will get you," they told me as a child,
but, unlike other girls, I was always comfortable in the wild.
On Τεσσαρακοστή, the fortieth day before Easter, I broke
my first Lent at the age of seven. In a master stroke
of evil, I snapped a rabbit's neck and drank its blood on Friday;
I always pushed to find helpless creatures that I might slay.
At the age of fourteen, I continued to follow my desires
by fooling with the boys and setting their hearts on fire,
but I only allowed them to go so far before telling them to stop
because I always wanted to make sure that I was the one on top.
In my third seven-year tribulation, I left home and school;
to be educated by such idiots, one would have to be a fool.
I built a shack in the woods and lived off the bayou,
always being sure to hang out leftovers for the rougarou.
At the age of twenty-one, I lured him into my home;
I saw his weakness: he no longer wanted to be alone.
Now that I am pregnant, it is time for me to make a stand
since no law exists that says the rougarou has to be a man.
On Τεσσαρακοστή, the fortieth day before Easter, I broke
my first Lent at the age of seven. In a master stroke
of evil, I snapped a rabbit's neck and drank its blood on Friday;
I always pushed to find helpless creatures that I might slay.
At the age of fourteen, I continued to follow my desires
by fooling with the boys and setting their hearts on fire,
but I only allowed them to go so far before telling them to stop
because I always wanted to make sure that I was the one on top.
In my third seven-year tribulation, I left home and school;
to be educated by such idiots, one would have to be a fool.
I built a shack in the woods and lived off the bayou,
always being sure to hang out leftovers for the rougarou.
At the age of twenty-one, I lured him into my home;
I saw his weakness: he no longer wanted to be alone.
Now that I am pregnant, it is time for me to make a stand
since no law exists that says the rougarou has to be a man.
Jimmy Pappas received an MA in English Literature from Rivier University. Jimmy's poems have been published in such journals as Kentucky Review, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Boston Literary Magazine, and War, Literature and the Arts. He is a recent first prize- winner of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire's National Contest.
Fantastic, Jimmy! A haunting tale masterfully delivered.
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