Beauty to the Beast
Beauty to the Beast
picture by PJ Lynch
When I dare walk in fields, barefoot and tender,
trace thorns with my finger, swallow amber,
crawl into the badger's chamber, comb
lightning's loose hair in a crashing storm,
walk in a wolf's eye, lie
naked on granite, ignore the curse
on the castle door, drive a tooth into the boar's hide,
ride adders, tangle the horned horse,
when I dare watch the east
with unprotected eyes, then I dare love you, Beast.
- by Theodora Goss
[The image is actually from "East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon," illustrated by Pj Lynch, but that's a Beauty and the Beast story as well. This is where the heroine sees her bear husband's true form.]