Hungry Ghosts And Thirsty Spirits
Nine snow-white candles to ward my bed
as the Hunter's Moon glares against my door.
Rowan and hyperion at foot and head
but your fetch is strong. I need much more.
Last night I could tell it would need to be fed.
I felt its cold lips that the flames couldn't kill
pressed on my skin like a waxen seal,
saw its stubbled neck scrawny, stretched and too real
as thirsting you came, crawling over the sill,
but the gods in their mercy allowed me one grace:
to never again have to see your face.
October 2023
posted for
Process note: Rowan and Hyperion(St John's Wort) were said to be protective against evil spirits and witches and were often hung indoors or planted at the doorways of houses:
"The European rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) has a long tradition in
European mythology and folklore. It was thought to be a magical tree and
[to]give protection against malevolent beings.. It was said in England that this was the tree on which the Devil hanged his mother..British folklorists of the Victorian era reported the folk belief in apotropaic powers of the rowan-tree, in particular in the warding off of witches...Sir James Frazer (1890) reported such a tradition in Scotland, where the tree was often planted near a gate or front door. ~wikipedia
"The common name St John's wort comes from the fact that its flowers and buds were commonly harvested at the time of the Midsummer festival, which was later Christianized as St John's Feast Day
on 24 June. It was believed that harvesting the flower at this time
made its healing and magical powers more potent. The herb would be hung
on house and stall doors on St John's Feast Day to ward off evil spirits
and to safeguard against harm and sickness to people and livestock. ..Because of its supposed potency in warding off spirits, the plant was also known as fuga daemonum (loosely "demon-flight").."~wikipedia
Images: Title unknown, ©@coven of ceridwen via internet Fair Use
La Mort: Mon ironie depasse toutes les autres! 1889 ©Odilon Redon Public Domain
You have turned the familiar rhyme on its head here, and to great effect. I could almost feel the chill myself. Somehow yhe detail snout the neck made it extra creepy. But yes, you’ll never have to deal again. —Shay
ReplyDelete*the detail about
DeleteThank you,Shay. At least I got a few lines out of it.
ReplyDeleteQuite a pair, this demon duo, the It and You of the Paramour's ice. Loved the predatory gleam of the Hunter's Moon, the herbs to fug the fatal embrace and the its chillingly rhymed enactment. Happy that among the gods there's a mother who hides her child's eyes from fate. A night for the literate living and the desperate dead, indeed, Hedge, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you, B. Your insight is as always, invaluable and on the money. I'm a bit under the weather today but I will be by to read soon.
DeleteAn amazing write, palpably chilling and eery.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherry.
DeleteWow. Love this witchy tale you offer us here, and with that perfect last line too.
ReplyDeleteOnce again sending me places I have no need to go---until that final line!
ReplyDeleteThis glorious poem gave me goosebumps Joy and I always love it when you have share history and facts at the end. Absolutely fascinating both poem and details. I hope all is well with you these days my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks, dear Carrie. I'm glad you enjoy the notes. I probably overdo it sometimes, but I like the reader to know what I know just in case they don't. All is well here. Have a lovely 2024. ~joy
Deletekiller close there to a pen replete with nuanced, goose-bump inducing imagery. sorry it took so long for me to comment ~
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