“Wild Woman” by Denisha Naidoo

 

The moon is high
full in the sky
my skin tingles
gleaming eye

with laughter and joy
for what comes next
the transformation
is the best.

On my limbs
soft thick fur
a top my head
triangle ears appear

I can sense the world
through my snout
scents that tell me
what’s about

Fierce and strong
running free
when I get to be
authentically me

it’s part of being
who I am
not two-legged woman
but four-legged “man”

I laugh at the stupid
myth they tell
as though a wolf
came straight from hell

they say a werewolf
is a male
a white European
Fake news! Fairy tale!

And accuse him
of eating human flesh
when herbivores
like rabbits are best

And what else
did they get wrong?
If I start
I’ll go on and on…

As though being a wolf
were a tragedy
like a curse
in need of a remedy

what they don’t know
it is to be
a wild woman
running strong and free!

***

Denisha Naidoo is a South African born Canadian poet, writer and Wild Woman living in Guelph, Ontario, with her dog Maverick. Her work has been accepted by Braided Way Magazine, Outpost Magazine, Ladies Briefs: A Short Anthology and Tree Talk. Her documentaries have aired on CBC radio and she published a podcast of her novella, The Amazing Adventures of Wig Girl {see here}.

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