Snow White
Exchanges Vomit
with Owl
She comes to and Bang-Up’s got her fingers down her throat. The whiskey comes back up like it hates her personal, there’s puke everywhere and a skunky red in her eyes. Bang-Up punches a few walls and it’s a bad night. No one comes round from a thing like that looking pretty. Retching and sweating and a lump of hide in Snow White’s mouth so she don’t make supper of her tongue. Everyone snarling twice means you wanted it, what’s soured out in you girl, is you looking for your death or just banging into it full stupid?
When she finally sleeps it’s like drowning, that dark, that final.
I’m looking for it. I’m looking for it.
Snow White
Swallows the Earth
It happens again when the snow starts riding the wind, not fallen yet but ashing the air.
Everyone’s in camp this time. They see it happen. Even Bang-Up. But they don’t interfere. Everyone’s minding theirs. Only so much you can do to keep a body going when it’s bent on blowing town. They all see her come.
Old Epharim stirs her stew. Fox meat and coyote bones and deer hearts black as secrets.
Snow White doesn’t wait. In the bank of her whole self she’s already laid out on the floor. But
it’s not her mama come to shoot the place up.
It’s Mrs. H.
Older, white freezing the edges of her hair, lines in her face like someone meant to scar her forever but didn’t have the heart to finish up. But it’s her. Snow White sees a face she knows and fears and loves in an ugly, bunched up way. A family way.
It’s not a fair fight.
Mrs. H is holding a basket of apples. They look real nice. Snow White keeps her mouth shut—it’s all said anyway. She just looks at her stepmother holding her death bag of Puritan magic between them like they don’t both know what’s going to happen.
And yet. Mrs. H falters. Snow White is the best draw going and her stare punches a hole at point blank. She aims to fill it this time.
“Everything in this world requires a heart in trade,” Mrs. H whispers. “There’s no such thing as a good bargain.”
Yeah. That’s about the speed of it.
Mrs. H pulls out a deck of cards. Thompson’s fox-teeth show on the back of the seven of spades. She offers Snow White the cut, fair as fair as fair.
Snow White don’t take it.
Snow White reaches out and grabs an apple from the bag. She bites into it and never looks away from Mrs. H, from the crevice of her, and this is a suicide we’re watching, full faith and knowledge.
Snow White swallows that piece of sweetness and falls down dead.
Her mother catches her.
Part VI
Snow White
Rides a Star
Snow White
Is Carried By Turtle