Breeze, Breeze
Late summer lady wearing a necklace of ice,
Don't rock across the cat's tail--
Don't steal down beneath the railroad bridge
And wake the Witch of Waxahachie.
Well now, stupid girl,
You've gone and done it.
She is 116 years old
And wakes up meaner
Than the dog you stole the bacon from.
Howl howl
Snarl and shatter--
One year older.
One year madder.
The Witch of Waxahachie
Married five men
(one at a time...she is decorous, if dangerous),
And they are no more to her now than
Five drops in a bucket.
But, Breeze,
Silly Breeze,
She kissed one woman
And never knew such sweetness
In the afternoon,
Nor such a bitter emptiness
As she felt that evening looking down the Grange Hall Road--
The very one her darlin's feet set on fire when she left.
Breeze, ridiculous thoughtless Breeze,
With your sun-deep skin and your
Dead white smile,
Now you have woken her.
Now you have reminded her.
There is just the one way out, and it goes due west--
I would take it if I were you.
_______
The breeze seems to be getting pretty damn irresponsible these days, if you ask me. I certainly would have thought twice about blowing under that particular bridge. Fine October feel to this one--last lines are eerily cold and right.
ReplyDeleteWe are just breezy gals, Hedge!
ReplyDeleteyou caring me shay...gonna have nightmares now...and hiding the buckets so i dont become a drop in one of them...know what i sayin' smiles.
ReplyDelete"Late summer lady wearing a necklace of ice,
ReplyDeleteDon't rock across the cat's tail--
Don't steal down beneath the railroad bridge
And wake the Witch of Waxahachie."
Wow. I sense something here. If I had half a mind I might think about using this in a short story. Hmmm...
i hope the silly Breeze has enough sense to head west. another amazing tale! love, love, love it! ♥ d
ReplyDeleteStealing the bacon. So many cool things in here I don't know where to start.
ReplyDeleteLove the imagery, I wish I could get a photo of this awe inspiring Breeze
ReplyDeleteOoooh, I love this one. The imagery is spectacular. You always inspire me, always. Thank you. xo
ReplyDeleteThe delightfully dark pictures you've painted on my brain go perfectly with this foreboding gray day.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope that the one who woke her runs faster than the spells of a witch.
ReplyDeleteNo, no necklace of ice, not yet, later if there must be one.
"One year older.
ReplyDeleteOne year madder."
Is it my birthday, already?
interesting tale of awakening the witch .... and she is mean and mad ~
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing meaner than someone you stole bacon from! Grrr...
ReplyDeleteIt was very difficult to pick just one of your poems, to revisit, but I enjoyed the process--what a gift you have, dear Shay. This one ended up being my choice, because, witches rule. The whole month that this poem is drawn from, September, 2011--would reward *anyone* who went back and read the work you turned out then--but then, it would be hard to find a month that didn't.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel i am the breeze, at others the witch, but mostly the girl who left and will never know what she missed.
ReplyDeleteBreeze, ridiculous thoughtless Breeze...
ReplyDeleteAh, but how sweetly it blows memories back to us.
Just lovely, Shay.
It's late at night here.. and pitch dark.. outside the trees start too look menacing.. did I wake that witch or not...
ReplyDeleteI like this, especially:
ReplyDelete"Married five men
(one at a time...she is decorous, if dangerous)"
"she is decorous, if dangerous"
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it!
An eery tale except for her one afternoon of delights. A good prelude to Halloween.
ReplyDeleteCautionary tale indeed!
ReplyDeleteI love this. I love seeing what you've come up with next.
I find your work fascinating and endlessly interesting.
I want to hear more about the Waxahachie Witch!