Brother and Sister Duet

by Terri Windling and Barth Anderson

based on the Brother and Sister fairy tale

The Sister

do you remember, brother

those days in the wood

when you ran with the deer —

falling bloody on my doorstep at dusk

stepping from the skin

grateful to be a man?

and do you know, brother

just how I longed

to wrap myself in the golden hide

smelling of musk

blackberries and rain?

tell me that tale

give me that choice

and I'll choose speed and horn and hoof —

give me that choice

all you cruel, clever fairies

and I'll choose the wood

not the prince.

— Terri Windling

The Brother

you long to run in musky rain and princely skins

but, sister, I have sped that hidebound marathon

wearing golden hides that warped my hands to hooves

and broke my scalp with a crown of horns —

I've run through thorns and thirsty fens

through wolves that bite and cats that catch —

those blood-dried hides of hoary kings

scoured raw my skin and

deadened my heart with hammering —

when I reached your hearth I shucked that hide

and faerie hands unveiled my sight:

ever beneath that scouring skin

proud, callow princes were scraped away

revealing numb and bloody men below.

but no more hides and no more hurts

run, sister, if you must but no more marathons for me

for I choose this hearth, not the princely hide,

and I will let my skin knit smooth.

— Barth Anderson

About the Authors:
Barth Anderson is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Patron Saint of Plagues, and short stories published in numerous magazines and anthologies. He lives in Minneapolis, where he also writes on food, fair–trade, the co–operative movement, and organics. For more information, visit his Endicott bio page and his website.

Terri Windling has published over forty books for adults, young adults, and children. She lives in Devon, England and Tucson, Arizona. For more information, visit her Endicott bio page.

"Brother and Sister: The Sister" copyright © 1995 by Terri Windling. It first appeared in The Armless Maiden (Tor Books, 1995) and was reprinted in The Poets' Grimm: 21st Century Poems from the Grimms Fairy Tales (Story Line Press, 2003). "Brother and Sister: The Brother" copyright © 2003 by Barth Anderson. It first appeared in a previous issue of The Journal of Mythic Arts. The poems may not be reproduced in any form without the authors' express written permission.