it was red week
at nursery school
and my daughter
brought home
a red folder full
of red lions
painted in that
irony-free red
on flip chart paper
I asked her what
about apples
and fire trucks
or shirts or maybe
a crimson sunset
over a ruby island
in a coral sea
and she said no
just lions because
they are the best
and red is
her best color
she was beamingly
proud of her lion
family even the baby
and mommy lions
are red she said
showing their
long red hair
and fancy bows
and when I asked her
if there are any
blue lions she said
yes but actually
they also turn red
from the blood
they eat for dinner
and even the blue
vegetarian lions
could play
in the forest
and didn’t need
to be afraid
of the red lions

—
Originally born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Yoni Hammer-Kossoy has been living in Israel for the last 16 years with his wife and three kids. Poems by Yoni have recently appeared in The Harpoon Review, The Jewish Literary Journal, Stoneboat Journal and Bones Haiku. Yoni also writes on Twitter as @whichofawind where he experiments recreationally (but responsibly) with various short poetic forms.