Happy Halloween, Honey!)
I made the witch
A black and fine array of gifts--
Amulet, ankh, and onyx stone,
A set of keys from black bear bone,
And a potion of pine tar pitch.
Men have laid their hearts at her feet,
And they lie there still, so still--
Now this woman waits by the storm-split tree
And love the witch she will, my dears,
And love the witch she will.
The marsh spirits cautioned me and said,
"Such folly to call the crow!"
But I'll sigh her name til I am dead
And down to Hell I go, my dears,
And down to Hell I go.
Now see my witch, she wears my stone,
And her Cherokee medicine smile--
She's meant to mark me as her own,
And has done all the while, my dears,
And has done all the while.
I adore the witch and we are two,
No pasty churchman's bitch--
To make a sweet black heart beat true,
Use sets of keys from black bear bone
And a potion of pine tar pitch!
The coven sanctitude you cast around your speakers and their lovers is pure verbal bat-wing, fer sure. It only gets spooky when a man intrudes. Enjoy your Sabbat midnite snack. - Brendan
ReplyDeleteThe perfect tribute to this day of halloween
ReplyDeletePitch perfect (sorry I couldn't resist - why do I suddenly feel toady ;))
ReplyDeleteCan't fight that gris-gris. A halloween song ringing where the flames flare up brightest and still the eyes are never seen, only that glowing mark. A happy All Hallows to all the drinkers of the potion of pitch.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Halloween love song! Happy Halloween to all!
ReplyDeleteI love the chant, the rhythm, the repeated lines. It is perfection. "And love the witch, she will."
ReplyDelete'Dia de los muertos' a serious tradition in Latin America(Mexico) in reminding all, through the brujas, vampires and diablos, certain kinds of conduits connecting life and death.
ReplyDeletelove the echoes through out shay...cherokee medicine smile is a great descriptor as well...drink up
ReplyDeletePerfect for Halloween. Nice and scary, but with the spice of love mixed in with the pine tar pitch and black bear bone. I loved this line ..."To make a sweet black heart beat true...
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you. BTW thank you and Bosco for the kind words about Ms. Dix:~)
Spicy tone brewin'... Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteSilly men. "No pasty churchman's bitch--" yeah had to giggle out loud.
ReplyDeletewords flow beautifully my dears... enjoyed the spell you cast ~
ReplyDeletehappy halloween ~
Ooh...freaky fab-ness on this Halloween night! Have a fantastically frightful evening, my dear! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is some might wicked spell casting! I love it!
ReplyDeletegood gifts-
ReplyDeleteAloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
><}}(°>
"And down to Hell I go, my dears,"
ReplyDeleteLove it!! i'll be humming with those words in my head as i go to sleep ~ if you don't hear from me within 48 hours, please email the devil and tell him it was all your fault ~ to send me back as it's not my time yet.
okay? thanks, SP! {i'll forward you his email address in case you've lost it.}
There are so many things I love about this poem: the incantation and circular motion of the repetition in the first and last stanzas, the sense of feminine empowerment and the arcane atmosphere. But I think my favourite thing about it is the alliterative beat in such lines as:
ReplyDeleteAmulet, ankh, and onyx stone,
A set of keys from black bear bone,
And a potion of pine tar pitch.
Superb!
Sounds like your halloween was more fascinating than mine....love this Shay!
ReplyDeleteI'm lovin' the playful nature of this work! It puts me right back into a Halloween mood :-)
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss this? So cool.
ReplyDelete