She is Nothing But a Fox

Artwork by Michelle Zhou, staff artist.

There is a river of black that trails down your back. Long black hair, so long, so long, so long. And I wait for you, I look into those dark eyes, some pool of toxic oil I would swallow willingly, believing that it is nothing but dark wine. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Eat me alive, your love is all I want.

Luminescent, you glow so bright warm hues of orange and yellow and red. Sunsets cannot compare. I want to burn in this fire that ignites off of your skin. The handle of a door, your body curves so beautifully. I want to grab, to turn. It fits so perfectly in my fingers that they grasp at it. Burning cold metal tearing at my skin. Unlock this treasure. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Eat me alive, your love is all I want.

Your red lips. Crimson. Scarlet. Ruby. Stained with blood but I wish it was my heart you bit into. My liver torn apart—I want to give myself to you, any part. I want to be yours. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Eat me alive, your love is all I want.

I feel the warmth of your lips as they graze over mine. Your hands pulling through my hair, a lioness prowling through the safari. Your lips against mine, the edges twisting up into some sinister grin, but I don’t mind. Heart beating faster in my chest, a drum counting down to midnight. The end of my clock, I can feel it from the tips of my fingers to the stubs of my toes. A slight chuckle slips from your lips. Those lips…Sweet, sweet, sweet…

Your eyes glow as your body floats into the air. Goddess, love, that never felt right. And now, and now I don’t know what to call you. Devil, witch, terror. Maybe that is more fitting. I want to open my eyes so I open them and see this bead floating in the sky between you and I. Glow, glow, glow– light and power, I want it so bad. A woman I already had... A woman I can always have. But this power…There is this boat floating in my throat—rivers of saliva pooling up and I want to pour myself into you. Glow, glow, glow– light and power, I want it so bad so I swallow hard. And everything goes down.

Long tails snaking out from behind you, bushy and white and orange, your large limbs of lies. White clouds of deception surround you. How could I have been such a fool? I was just a boy to think you had a beauty worthy of my love. But now you do not glow. Your river of ink is nothing but dirt cutting through pale images of innocence. Your glowing eyes are just a reflection of the moon, the rim of an eclipse blocking out hope. Your red lips are hearts you wished to embrace before sharp teeth pierced into them pain. A monster.

One, two, three steps back. You lie shaking on the floor because now I glow, glow, glow– light and power, I have it. You used to be sweet, sweet, sweet. So sweet, your beauty immortal and dangerous. Trapped in a skin that poisons your love, teeth too sharp for you to speak, a bead of light stealing what used to be your own. To feel, to love, to live– woman, remember, you are nothing but a fox.

I chose to base my piece off of the gumiho, or nine-tailed fox, from Korean folklore. Oftentimes this creature is depicted to be a fox who appears as a woman and seduces men in order to gain power from them by eating their heart or liver. In the media, there are many different renditions of this creature, one of them including the idea that during the once-in-a-thousand-year eclipse they have the chance to become human. I think it is interesting how folklore and even modern stories depict/villainize women. Through this piece, I wanted to position myself as a man falling for the gumiho but then realizing her true nature. I wanted to look at her through the one dimensional perspective of a man, but towards the end, I also wanted to explore how this idea, while she is powerful, could also be very sad. I wanted to touch on the idea that as a gumiho, this woman cannot experience typical human feelings and experiences, and instead is seen only for her beauty and then for destruction and evil. Through this poem, I hope to more deeply explore the idea of gumiho and the different sides of this creature from Korean folklore.

Addison Lee is a high school writer from Southern California. Her work has been recognized by the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards and River of Words. Aside from reading and writing, she loves to bake, play the bass, and listen to music. She has editorial roles in her school’s newspaper and literary magazine. She one day hopes to publish her own novel.