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Friday, 6 September 2013

There was a witch


















There was a witch once lived in a tree,
as witchy as any old witch could be --
not that you'd know, for she dressed quite so,
sometimes as duchess, sometimes as queen,
but never were witch's rags to be seen.

The bones of the tree were as dry as hers,
but she'd wrap herself in some sumptuous furs
(under which she'd wear but never a stitch)
and fly to her mansion of musty smells
in the land of voodoos and spells.

The twigs of her broom were coming apart.
They should have told her. They hadn't the heart.
So the three pet birds she kept in the tree --
Tax and Id and the long-dead Dermy --
tweeted to warn: Stay away from the sea!

But slowly the witch lost power to the deep.
(Old adversaries these, concerned to keep
their secret enigmas inviolate.)
(It seemed inevitable that the weight
of Nature's mysteries would seal her fate.)

A late submission to This week's prompt at The Mag.

34 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, but she changed her course and became a very successful Word-Faith televangelist--right?

jabblog said...

She must have had some saving grace as her pet birds 'hadn't the heart.' This swings along nicely, Dave:-)

Brian Miller said...

ha. well done....your words dance. love the rhyme scheme and cool story...and while it is only a small part the little undead bird, ha...i like...smiles.

Jinksy said...

Tax, Id, Dermy? Yay! I love it! :) A tale with a swing as well as a grin...

Mary said...

Very clever word play, Dave.

Loved Tax, ID, and Dermy.

Your poem really has a nice flow!

Cait O'Connor said...

I love all things witchy, including this poem! Like this especially:

But slowly the witch lost power to the deep.
(Old adversaries these, concerned to keep
their secret enigmas inviolate.)

Anonymous said...

So charming, Dave! I especially like the tax-id-dermy!

And an Id bird has a special meaning!

Hope you are feeling better. k.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Charming poem Dave. Like the last two lines a lot.

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

Unexpected and wonderful, again the very English bright tradition of the nursery rhymes in the background!

Carrie Van Horn said...

You are a brilliant rhymer Dave.....always a pleasure to read your words here. :-)

Elephant's Child said...

Stunning - and I love that the sea claimed her - to add to the mysteries of the deep.

Helen said...

Love, love your rhyming Magpie!!

haricot said...

Even witches' inner energy woulld deteriorate, then it is natural that mine does so...:)

Cloudia said...

Sister Sea wins!



ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^= <3

Truedessa said...

This was a fun story to read and the word play was very clever..Tax id dermy..

ds said...

Love this! Clever and bouncy and fun ("Tax and Id and the long-dead Dermy"--giggle), and the last stanza deep. Wonderful write, sir!

Laurie Kolp said...

I really enjoyed this, Dave... & it's so good to see you!

Ygraine said...

I really enjoyed this, Dave. It is so clever, bouncy and fun!
I also love the undertone of nursery rhyme in the background.

Very well done!:)

Katherine said...

Nice flow to your rhyming... I really enjoyed the story woven in the words!

David Cranmer said...

She seems like a nice lady.

Carl said...

It reminded me of icarus except the witch instead of abundant hubris had a lack of wisdom. Wonderfully written tale with more than a dash of your humor.

Anonymous said...

Lovely... I adore witchy tales:)

A Cuban In London said...

Well, the witch wouldn't have listened to Id/on impulse, who knows what she would have done to it? :-)

Greetings from London.

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Iremonger Lindsay JacoBus Quinlan Pickens said...

lovely poem

i wonder where you are,
if not in paradise,
you shall be at peace
and always write
in your mind, and in your spirit.

thanks for past support to my friend's poetry rally.
a king of courage and wisdom,
God bless....

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