She slept with the bear to relieve herself of the burden of purity
to travel the world alone with only a backpack.
Apple trees lit up with ten thousand sun-filled blossoms.
She winced when he pinched her and praised her legs. He suggested
that she see a doctor for her unnatural fear of the inevitable.
White petals blew in the wind as church bells tolled.
He undressed her and pushed her down. It hurt but she did not
make a sound. He was disappointed by the absence of blood.
White petals were trampled into mud.
Bears do not turn into handsome princes. He turned into a half bald man
with a leather-bound journal, in which he noted her various imperfections.