The townsfolk called it Witches' Manor
But it was just a little house,
Out there at the edge of the bush.
They called the lady there a witch.
She was a woman living alone,
Weaving yarn and making cloth
For her solitary living.
The townsfolk feared her cats,
Penelope and Lady Midnight
And everyone said the lady
Had a nose and chin that met.
The lady didn't go much into town
But the townsfolk had nowhere else
To buy their cloth.
They would make their trips to the Manor
And would find a blonde lady,
Middleaged, in wellcut robes,
Sitting at her loom and weaving.
She was well spoken, a bit sarcastic
But mostly polite and hospitable,
Offering tea and homemade remedies
When they mentioned illness.
The cloth was well made and reasonable
And the skeins of yarn were even.
But of course it's more interesting
To tell tales of a lady
In rusty robes with a witches' chin,
And a witchy nose and feline familiars.
Author notes
A somewhat indifinite time in history, during that stretch of several hundred years when people feared and hated witchcraft.
A contest entry
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Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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This is very nice and reminds me of a story my mother used to tell me when I was little. Thanks for bring back the memories. Very nicely structured as well. Great Job. Keep it up.
Josh -
Very nice poem, beautifully structured and vocabularised and descriptive with the factor of humour meeting the honour. However although it does make reference to history, it does not go into the depths of focus on time as the prime subject. Thank you for taking your time to enter
and good luck anyway!
I must say again lovely composition!
~Emily~ xx
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subtle, yet striking
great narrative (although I think there's a few repetitions too many, there's joy in repetition; and the moral of the story is...!)
thanks for the read
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Speaking from a witch's viewpoint, I must applaud you with many, many claps! This is wonderful beyond description. You've really made my day with this write. The reality of the old school herbalists and healers and how the surrounding community viewed them was amazingly different. You have captured this perfectly, thank you for your tribute to the Crone.
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This is such a great story,
I enjoyed reading your story of
some sweet little old lady,
was many things but not a witch.
Lovandblessings2u & yours always
Joyce
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Great imagery in this judy
thanks for sharing with the group.
ephiphany♥
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Nice . . .
Enjoyed this! And how true! So many tend to create something out of nothing and innocent people pay the price. An example is Salem. Well done. Let's put these witchy stories to rest. Let's keep your's awake. Thank you for this. You have done a good thing for a lot of people feeling misunderstood due to the imaginations of a few.--Kel
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