Old Crone
Despairing
long in the tooth
I have become now
an old woman
researching gum disease
vitamin deficiencies
tapping the labels
of my food and pills
alone in my little cottage
alone with my little cat
she, in her dotage,
lost two big fangs
while her old crone’s teeth
grow long and sharp
I am all fangs
all pointy problems
I smile grandly
from my rotting stoop
beckoning the boys
“Come by, my pretties,
come close, and taste
my bite.”