As Certain Dark Things Are To Be Loved Poem by Amanda Purczynski

I was born calm and
into a family that was more Addams
than Brady.
My mother read me fairy tales,
my father taught me control and patience,
and my uncle re-named me Little Red.
At 3 I tamed a hell-hound.
Barking sharp commands
in an borrowed language.
At 4 I was barred from a hospital
with a woman inside
who smelled like Chanel No.5
At 5 I was walking down a street,
in a country whose name I couldn't pronounce.
With a man who sang songs,
that called to something
forgotten and old in your bones.
At 6 I leaned how to walk
like an alpha.
And a woman with a smile like glass
and blood in her eyes
taught me to bargain a star,
to win the moon.
At 7 I was at a memorial for a man
awarded honor for being human,
at a time when men turned into monsters.
They said I had his anger.
At 8 a girl broke my sister's spirit,
so I broke her nose.
The marks on my knuckles
never did heal.
At 9 I wanted to be a lion-tamer.
I asked a fire-breather
if I could go with him,
he laughed and said no.
But a gypsy offered to buy me.
10 showed that a forest can get dark.
And that winter is so honest,
that it can burn your bones
and scorch your skin.
At 11 my father put a rifle in my hands
he said shoot,
and I did.
I've learned to hide
my teeth since then.
At 12 my tongue turned to silver.
Black rings were carved around my eyes
and I didn't sleep for a while.
13 saw my brother coming home
with a steel spine,
and warrior engraved into his bones.
At 14 I found keys to the Kingdom.
And played the piano for a boy,
who had lost everything
because of a woman
with a penchant for matches.
15 and I've bet my head,
but not my neck
and paid without penalty.
Raven's have chased me
and wolves have been my friends.
The silver melted from my tongue,
black rings and scars have faded,
and now I am calm once more.