BURN

">The dead souls caught up with me that dreadful night
and I walked through the gates of hell
From the future I watch my image burn in fire's bright light
this darkened tale I now must tell

Evil exists and the wheels of darkness forever turn
as the flames of hell grew higher and a wicked witch did burn
Reduced to nothing she disappeared in gray smoke as the crowd condones
her spirit released to the cat walking among the remains of ashes and bones

 
And O` they Shouted! Cursed! and Threw Stones!

Now the town's people fear the revenge of my return

and remember well, my spell, as they yelled

Burn! Witch! Burn!



The moon shines in my favor tonight
Not this time! I say, shall they have their way
I'll avenge the wrongful deed done,'tis my fight
my dark cold stare cuts like a knife and karma collects its pay


The curse of the witch now lies upon their head
as they threw me in a grave down by Cutter's Creek
my freezing corpse has risen from the dark dampness of death's bed
and my icy shadow looks down in laughter upon their grief



Now a hollow silence fills the night air
and the fires have cleansed my soul it seems
an elevated pleasure in taking revenge without a care
leads me back to peaceful sweet dreams

Author's Note

Artwork by Victoria Frances

thanks so much Bubo for the review ~ I have no idea who this warped person is who smeared my poem and thinks I am someone else~ probably a paranoid skitzo to keep WC drama going at any rate I deleted whomever it is ~ I really don't have time for such nonsense

Reviews

[Devons]

A raging tale is told here like the lore of yore. The language reads almost like a spell, or incantation, of sinister and grave origins. But the story speaks more than that of fantasy and legend, and is a parable for persecution and vengeance; not only in terms of the historical deaths of witches and heathens -both innocent and otherwise- but also it reminds us of human morals, which are never dated by their context.
Dark lyrical imagery is created from this and there is a subtle intensity which reaches out to us with even-handed pathos.
Very effective. And I really like this:
"Evil exists and the wheels of darkness forever turn
as the flames of hell grew higher and a wicked witch did burn
Reduced to nothing she disappeared in gray smoke as the crowd condones
her spirit released to the cat walking among the remains of ashes and bones"

[Einstein Noodle]

Your resurrected poem drags me deep in WC graveyard .. I see reviews from dear and treasured poets from too many years ago who have been gone almost as long .. Fran .. i am so grateful for you and far many others who have stayed and continue to share inspiration, insights and art .. in word. your poem reminds me now to watch "Hocus Pocus" .. my absolute favorite movie of the season .. have no idea who Bubo might me or "has been" ... doesn't deserve any mention .. says i! right here at the Cafe'
E.

[Fran Marie]

Thanks E for the kind review
yes many old friends have gone now
I've been here 15 yrs ..came to this
site in 2007..i miss a lot of the old
crowd. so many who graced these
halls..at one time ..nice memories

[Ted Kniffen]

Well done Fran. A perfect touch of mystery and history for that matter. Witches may have been much maligned and many met an unhappy end.
A good poem at the right time.

Happy Hallowe'en

[Fran Marie]

Thanks Ted for the kind review
glad you liked it...Happy Halloween

[light and ashes]

I was excited to read this from the very first line!
This was so thrilling and fun to read!
I absolutely loved this.

[Fran Marie]

Thank you so much
for the kind review
I so appreciate it

[light and ashes]

You are so welcome!

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I loved this! It was sort of creepy, scary and menacing all at the same time. I WAS puzzled by the author's note. Someone "smeared" your poem? Ah, there are crazies everywhere. You know what I thought about reading this? The Salem Witch Trials and that prophesy Sarah Good forecast on the gallows. She said, I'm no more of a witch than you but God will give you blood to drink for the evil you do here today. And that same governor, inquisitor, whatever he was died in convulsions a few years later coughing up blood and choked to death on it. I love that story! Great poem, my friend.

[Fran Marie]

yes when I first posted it 10 years ago
someone I didn't even got a wild hair up
their kazoo..at any rate I deleted at the time..yes I remember reading something
of the Salem witch trials Massachusetts
fascinating reading to think such atrocities and torture took place..
glad she put a curse on the old codger
Thanks Fabian for your interesting thoughts and words ..i appreciate;

[Fabian G. Franklin]

My pleasure, my friend, always. This was a seasonal delight!

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Fran... you have written poems and reviews with a Gentle touch.
I do believe that there is a force of Evil in this World; and also a force of Good.
Lucifer was thrown out of Heaven... and he is still trying to destroy the Good
intentions. Therefor... we often are taken in by promises of Gold... when
all along we are left with broken promises. Having lived long enough to witness
the force of good and evil... I am a Believer in "Forgiveness" because Lucifer is still at work.
Only God can forgive... but we have to prove we are "worth" being forgiven. Some people say
that they can forgive, but not forget. That will always be an "Open" debate. We might perhaps ... give someone the benefit of the doubt"... but Lucifer is in God's Court... and God will be the Judge.
Amen... gently, Pat

[Fran Marie]

Dearest Pat; so true; good verses evil since the beginning of time and it will
always be a battle between
God and Lucifer to grab our souls..i understand your POV.

Lucifer is Doubt destruction, deceit,diversion disbelief despair plus some others I can't recall..but God
Will be the ultimate judge
the Alpha and Omega..

to forgive is divine so
I've heard; a fine line there
I believe between forgive
and forget..guess human
nature kicks in there as we
tend to replay those indiscretions of infidelity in our mind; hard to forget..

thanks Pat for your wise and kind words this poem is a bit dark that's why I wrote in rhyme to soften the hard words..for poetry's sake, rather than a historical prose format

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Fran ... I know about Salem Witches... and there is so much dark History. I tend to learn about History; however, my Father was such a Fanatic in so many ways-- that I limit my poems to be as Cheerful as I am inspired. Now there is too much sadness in our Country... and it is Scary.. as if the Pandemic was not enough to handle-- we have a Party that wants to destroy our Constitution and History... and actually
may destroy Mankind. If that isn't the work of Evil--
I will be like Chicken Little... saying-- "the Sky is falling". No problem using "hard words". It is reality that we must face. I guess I also like to soften the truth.... most of the time. Be blessed in spite of the
damage that has been done in a short time. I feel like we are living on "Borrowed Time". gently, Pat

[Fran Marie]

I realize that Pat; I love your cheerful
poems..each of us have our style and
genres..i tend to write many different
genres ..sad..happy..exotic dark et al
the country is a sad mess ..America
Is in bad shape I agree..as for politics
and parties.i rather PM if you want a
ˈtēt-ə-ˌtēt..i would be glad to talk about
issues..

[Betty Hermelee]

I think you were having a dark nightmare; but I loved the witch and the fires and the ashes and the revenge!
and all the evil that goes with this tale. "the curse of the witch lies upon their head"... a great line... and of course its' nearing to Halloween, so this is totally imaginative and appropriate....Great write Fran!
Best, B.

[Fran Marie]

Thanks Betty..i do like writing the
dark ink..this is an oldie..haven't
seen my dark muse lately this year
I s o appreciate your kind review..

[Betty Hermelee]

You’re so very welcome Fran🙂

[Chris Shaw]

A terrific write Fran, spooky and with a touch of the Halloweenies. Also you end your poem on an uplifting and high note. A return to peaceful dreaming after the mares. Hard to believe that burning at the stake was commonplace for so called witches, back in the day of superstition and lack of education. Always a delight to read you Fran.

Well done you, for deleting rubbish nonsense left on your work. There are idiots everywhere.

Chris

[Fran Marie]

Thanks Chris thanks for commenting on this oldie..almost 10 years ago I wrote it
I don't even remember who it was that
smeared my poem back then.lol
stuff happens like that occasionally
I just delete that kind of BS..i
always appreciate your kind reviews

[Laz K.]

The topic is a fascinating one. Arthur Miller wrote an entire play on the Salem "witches" arguing they were no witches at all, but rather victims of mass hysteria, greed, and sacrificial lambs killed in a frantic release of pent up psychic forces that Puritan society allowed no other outlet for.

This poem successfully creates a dark, gothic mood, and it could be a springboard for a nice, long conversation about so many topics like witchcraft, gender roles, metaphysics, spirituality, etc. Sometimes I wish Writerscafe was an actual place...:)

[Fran Marie]

Thank you..yes witches.. ghosts , et al would make interesting conversational
discussions for poets ..I love also
talking about the paranormal and
unknown phenomenon ..it would
be nice if WC was a real place
All of us , we poets could discuss
many subjects for sure...

[AprilRN1210]

Fran.. wow.. girl.. this is one dark tale that had me hanging on every line to see where you were going next.. it had a little of everything here.. fires of hell, curses, burning witches.. eeek!.. I could hear the cackling and the narrator telling it in a spooky voice... very entertaining... you always deliver ma'am!!...

[Fran Marie]

yeah, sometimes I'm a mean spooky witch..lol. thanks April, so much appreciated...