What Hansel in His Cage is Forgetting

 

how his hair loosened at night
in his old bed and how the mice
carried it away

the morning his stepmother
boiled pine needles and dirt
served it
to him and his sister
with salt

how it hurt to lay down
his bones so close to the skin
shivering in the dark

the deep red
circles under his father
the woodcutter's eyes,
how his father let his beard grow
until little worms moved in

how a small stone feels when
he sucks it

how the white pebbles banged
bruises into his thighs, so heavy
in his pockets

how, when she unwrapped the crust from her pinafore,
Gretel's wrists were so sharp
looking pained his eyes

how, when he took Gretel's hand
in the forest
as the white bird led them
to the house made of food,
he knew they were
saved