An impromptu musing in pen and ink and a dash of watercolour (and a rather cavalier attitude to rhythm and punctuation) on the theme of Red Riding Hood and journeys which – combined with Sleeping Beauty and a lot of cut paper work – forms part of the theme of my contribution to next month’s Once Upon a Time art show (which this is not a part of, unless I can’t get everything else finished in time).
“Come!” says Miss Red, “we’ll go a-journeying –
So what if the wolf is in the woods?
He knocks at every cottage door
And if the path should promise pain
Or flowers,
We may choose again.
But all paths give
Sharp stones and offer pleasant hours.
This is of needles, that of pins,
And she who travels lightest wins.
Wear a good hat – so that you won’t be seen,
Or else bright colours, so you can’t be missed
(Better to go uncheated? or unkissed?
Unsinging or unsung?
Or altogether elsewhere, all the time
Distracted by a fresh horizon, sprung
Anew with every step.)
Good boots at least (for mud and gravel)
And food (who knows how far you’ll travel?).
Danger’s at home as well as away,
In bed as well as on the road,
And worry is a thankless load –
Come!” says Miss Red,
“I’ll share the forest and my bread
With who may join me, lingering
On pleasant paths.
We’ll go a-journeying…”
The show is:
Once Upon a Time – Reinterpreting the Fairy Tale
16th- 25th August 2013
The Art & Design Precinct, 10 Bailey St, West End, Brisbane
Kathleen Jennings 
Ooh, I love that!