Red by Charlotte Poitras

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: Red. Smaller text reads: Discussing disability in fairy tales and folklore.

“everyone who saw her liked her”[1]

she entered the woods
and the trees rose at her sight
her bottle of wine broke
stained the dress that used to be white

because the Big Bad Wolf
                                    wears sheep's fur
he does not show his fangs
                                    he smiles

poor girl could hear words
but not the way he glared down at her
when he asked “where”
she simply gave him the answer

“Thank you, wolf” she giggled
as he walked her back home
so monsters wouldn’t catch her

she’d be eaten anyway
she might as well
choose her predator

oh how grandma loved her partner
to hear, to see, to grab her
better

when she doubted, nana said
“no girl has even been luckier”

it was so dark inside the wolf’s body
that grandma didn’t have to close her eyes
so she could never see

“if my mother tells me not to”
but when he opened her mouth
she was told to answer

“I do”​

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​[1] With quotes from the original tale

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About the author:
Charlotte Poitras is a queer neurodivergent artist-entrepreneur based in Montréal, with more than 100 publications internationally, spanning literature, theatre, visual arts, and audiovisual work. She handles mainstream culture like playdough to make it her own and defend social causes in both shocking and entertaining ways.