She went straight for adventures <br />the minute she could read, <br />unlike her mother <br />who sought the solace of brave <br />little mice and Briar Woods <br />well into her teens. <br /> <br />Surprising, sometimes, <br />how she takes it in stride - <br />wartime famine and Black <br />Death, nature's blunt brutality <br />("did you know that Charlotte dies <br />after having her babies? That's <br />how it is for spiders") - following <br />her heroes into darkness, <br />braving thieves and wild boar <br />as they settle the West in a quiet <br />corner of her room after dinner. <br /> <br />She still prefers the company <br />of Women Who Dared and <br />Men Who Made History, <br />still believes she can conquer <br />every curve of the world <br />with little more than a meal <br />of dried meat and stale bread, <br />a sack and a compass, <br />and a notebook for letters home <br />so her brother doesn't worry.<br /><br />Lori Boulard<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/0004-chloe-s-stories/
