The Hansel & Gretel Forest 3

3
hand to hand they race
abandon the saw
use the tip to prick a vein
faster and faster the blood is streaming
mottled leaves sticky as paste

what if the wind picks up?
watch the sea gulls head towards the ripple of water
then you’ll always know east

until the canopy of dead brambles
entwined with thick arty edges,
reaching fingers, tips, elbows
crooked and ever, over reaching. the leafy greens
have slipped off creating hardened ends reaching beyond
blocking out the sky
the underneath is only more—
weathered in a spider web. No sun.
mossy flower beds, mud puddles

Hansel tries to kick through,
but the earth falls away, slippery shoe shod
where are your sea gull feathers now?
so whitewashed, gleaming smooth