The Witches of Little Begone

Little Begone was a tiny place

Untouched by the fronds of time,

The cottages there, since Edward the third

Had lain in a valley sublime,

Wisteria climbed at the cottage walls

Where lilies and lilacs grew,

And over a fence, the witches stared,

In Little Begone there were two.

 

They hated each other in Little Begone,

The youngest was Annabel Prank,

She’d stolen the seeds of a magical herb

From the garden of old Mother Skank,

So Skank put a spell on her garden that

Instead of the herbs, would grow

An army of huge zucchini’s that

Would spread, right into the road.

 

Annabel tried to dig them out

But they seemed to grow and grow,

‘That will teach you to mess with me,’

Old Mother Skank had crowed.

So Annabel stormed back into the house

And put on her witches hat,

She turned Skank’s cat to a cockerel,

And her cockerel into a cat!

 

Skank didn’t know ‘til the c**k miaowed

And the cat began to crow,

‘I’ve more spells than you know about,’

She screamed from the path below,

She sent an army of ugly toads

To breed in her neighbour’s pond,

While Annabel watched the zucchini’s grow

And sank in a deep despond.

 

That night she summoned up Beelzebub

While Skank sat down to plot,

Set fire to her neighbour’s chimney piece

And shattered the chimney pots,

So Skank called up an army of bats

To nest in her rival’s eaves,

When Annabel ran, with bats in her hair

Skank followed her through the trees.

 

They fought, pulled hair, and scratched and screamed

‘Til the neighbour’s all came out,

‘Isn’t it time that we ducked these two,’

Said the blacksmith, Simon Stout.

They seized and carried them down to the pond

And they brought the ducking chair,

Then ducked them both, and they both came up

With pondweed in their hair.

 

‘If you don’t behave in Little Begone

Begone is what you’ll be,

We’ve had enough of your witch’s tricks

Since fifteen forty three!’

Now Annabel sells zucchini’s at

The market, by the bank,

And she always looks the other way

When she spots old Mother Skank!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Dinesh Sairam]

Ha! This was such a good read. The immediately visible thing was the characterization- the concept of 'good and evil' put in nostalgic and simple imagery. Two of my favorite stanzas were:

She sent an army of ugly toads
To breed in her neighbour’s pond,
While Annabel watched the zucchini’s grow
And sank in a deep despond.

So Skank called up an army of bats
To nest in her rival’s eaves,
When Annabel ran, with bats in her hair
Skank followed her through the trees.

I'm usually not a big fan of fiction. But this was very good, much like a fairy tale for all ages. Once again, I don't know what it is with you and stories, and they're good in any case, I just think you have a lot of philosophy in you. It seems more reasonable, pardon me, that you should write metaphorical poems rather than fairy tales.

That said, there's nothing wrong with fairy tales either. I just feel they should be less in proportion to philosophy, which is in fact the soul of any poem.

Keep writing.

[Baby Ricochet]

Great Job. Giant Zuccini and ugly toads. HA!

[MoriartyMesa]

If you don’t behave in Little Begone

Begone is what you’ll be

Is it wrong that i laughed while a life was being threatened? God I hope not. This was good.

[Mr Dunne Poetry]

Amazing piece. Well done. Mr Dunne

[Leigh]

Amazing poetry, a great and funny read

[Lisa Ring]

We must have been cursed when I was a child. My parents had wheelbarrows full of zucchini that nobody would take for free! Punishment was a bit harsh, but I suppose at that time, it was commonplace. I love your writing. I am entertained and/or emotionally moved every single time!

[Audrey Howitt]

Loved this--an entertaining and intelligent write--and I want to say --hehehe--with glee!

[Valentine]

What a riot..you caused me by this one..I am still laughing out loud..I swear your mind must work in high gear all of the time to create these masterpieces..I wish the world could read your work...it is that good..Love and God bless Lyn and you..Kathie I also saw the one on u tube another great write.

[Enid Blake]

Very funny, interesting tale!

[Pratik]

This was fabulous!!! It was almost like reading a fable! It can be turned into a song - you can almost hum it!! I can see this poem going down to the pages of a children's book, much like Enid Blyton's 'Bedtime stories' and taught to children may be years later!! Wonderfully written!! Thank you for the read!

[Marie]

I'm glad something useful finally cme of all this...when only two witches live in a town, you'd think they could get along.