Gretchen Tessmer
Gretel Returns to the Gingerbread House
Gretel went back for Hansel
but she fell into a trap
that wily witch was waiting
knowing love would bring her back
same old tricks, sweet drinks and pie
trays piled high with gingersnaps
wiser now, she’ll take no cup
only gin fills up her flask
the witch waits in her doorway
won’t be swayed by shield-maid’s stare
thinking Gretel’s blade is show
smirking wide as she stands there
Gretel’s in no mood for games
not the same, no more a child
here to save the one she loves
she strikes, and shoves the crone aside
but opening the door, she cries
no brother there, just bones
oh, there are so many bones inside
______________________________________________________________________________
Gretchen Tessmer is a writer/attorney based in the U.S./Canadian borderlands. She writes both poetry and short fiction, with work appearing in Nature, Strange Horizons, and F&SF, among other venues.
Author’s Backstory: This poem was written as part of an annual poetry contest (generously organized by fellow poet and A&A contributor, Deborah Davitt). The prompts provided this time included a few surrealist paintings, including one that reminded me of the gingerbread house from Hansel & Gretel, if with a little more menace and maturity thrown in. This had me imagining a scene where an adult Gretel might return to the scene of her childhood horror story. Certain rounds of the contest also have us flexing our form muscles and so, in experimenting with a few lines, I found the verses falling into the musicality of the awdl gywydd, a four-line Welsh form that demands fairly strict syllable and rhyme patterns. As readers will note, the first four stanzas (mostly) follow the rules, after which, I veer off-script, with both the form and the original fairy tale. Apologies to all Hansel fans in the audience.
Editor’s Notes and/or Image Credit: As input to the Microsoft Designer: “Abstract: Gretel, holding a blade, is all grown up to hunt for witch’s bones in the oven,” the surreal image captures the elements of the poem. It is also interesting to note that there’s a 2013 movie called “Hänsel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” that subverts the classic fairytale as well.
