The Wolf and Little Red / Found My Magic by Linda M. Crate

the wolf and little red

they told the tale
all wrong
because they didn't
want all of the girls
running after wolves,

but little red riding

hood fell in love
with a werewolf;

and he fell in love with her—

her parents disapproved,
but she was of age
so she ran away and married
the man she loved;

paved a new way out of
flowers and ambition—

she knew they couldn't
understand,
but she couldn't fathom
why they couldn't see she
protected and loved
her wolf and he protected
and loved her; the same.



found my magic

i was born
under the moon,
perhaps that's
why they could never
pull me down to earth;

my head has always
been in the clouds

as i walk with stars—

i was always told to
be more realistic,
and perhaps that could
take me from point a to b;

yet i craved something
different than that—

so i followed after my dreams
and the shouts of crows
instead and found my magic;

and that was more a blessing
than reality could've been.

Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, and essays have been published in a myriad of magazines. She has sixteen published chapbooks, the latest being: fairytale love (Magique Publishing, October 2025).