The Prose Poem


Russell Edson

THE GOLDILOCKS COMPULSION

               An old man wearing a wig made of yellow yarn is eating porridge as he waits for the three bears to come home. He knows they will punish him. And why not? Hasn't he earned it?
               He wonders if the papa bear will simply give him a good spanking? He's certainly earned it.
               Perhaps they'll make a meal of him. Bears are omnivorous. Whatever they decide is okay with him.
               Perhaps they'll keep him as a love slave. That's okay, too. It's their right. Good Lord, if he's nothing else, he's certainly a fair-minded old man.
               And so he waited for the three bears with an almost unbearable excitement .