Hide, By Lissa Sloan

Every girl wants to be chaste

Or is it chased?

Either way, I ran from you

Taking only what I could carry in a nutshell

I thought I knew about men

With their twinkling eyes

Protective arms

And strong shoulders for riding on

But I was a child

I did not know

About chins rough with stubble

Eager hands

And ardent whispers, hot in my ear

I suppose you only want what’s underneath 

To get to the meat of it

Of me

So I ran 

I ran from you and I hid

So deep within

So deep beneath

Ermine and hare and mink

Fox and bear and wolf

Sun and moon and stars

Cloaked in a garment so impossible

Not even you will know me

Waiting, watching, I curl around my secrets

Crouched in a hollow

Under the stairs

Outside your door

Where the sound of your boot

The touch of your hand

The scent of your skin

Whisper in my blood

That you are not the man I thought

Would you be the one

To look beneath the furs and dirt 

the glitter and gold 

the skin and bone

And get to the heart of the matter?

And what would I find

Hidden inside your layers

Of courtly manners

And animal instinct

If I only dared to look?

They say the way to a man’s heart

Is through his stomach

And I know what you like

The secret ingredient is love

Or salt

Or a circle of gold

Buried treasure in a spoon

Do you know me now?

If you’re bold enough to uncover me

Golden hair and rough skin and everything underneath

To see me as I am

Then I will claim my prize

Lissa Sloan's poems and short stories are published in Enchanted Conversation, Niteblade Magazine, Krampusnacht: Twelve Nights of Krampus, and Frozen Fairy Tales.  “Death in Winter,” Lissa's contribution to Frozen Fairy Tales, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  Visit her online at her website, lissasloan.com, or on twitter: @LissaSloan.