Mortar & Pestle

Poetry entry for the "Mythologies Entwined" competition. Based on the folk lore tales of "Baba Yaga"

Of forest darkness, make her home
A house of sturdy hold
Her hand is heavy, weight it carries
Her bones are weak and old
But unlike elder, forged in family love
Of nurture, warmth and kind
Baba Yaga be thy name
Her heart only knows to grind

Stone of black, her mortar and pestle
Atone the crack, when she courts the devil
Death her tool, and lost her soul
Darkness binds her, dark as coal

So children stray towards the home
Held by legs of roosters breed
Her smile warrants the end of times
For timeless are her deeds

Fear not the forest, my children
For adventure makes you grow
But stray away from the path we've made
What happens, You now know.

Reviews

[Keith]

Thats haunting & mysterious. Not quite sure what its about but those images are wonderful.

[S.L.H]

It's based on an old myth about a witch who flew around in a mortar and pestle, catching children called Baba Yaga, and thanks!