What Makes a Witch a Witch
by Jenny Morelli
What I’ve read
about witches is that they’re cruel
with their curses and potions; that they hath
no fury, these women
scorned.
They’re often
possessed and posses
those around them; surround
themselves with cats and brooms and
cauldrons; with anger
and sadness,
loneliness
and despair, but maybe
they’re simply resourceful; maybe
they simply respect nature. Maybe their potions
are just palliatives
and carry no curses. Maybe
their facades are not fury, but frustration
when they’re
shunned
with scornful stares.
They possess spirit animals
like cats and bats
and woeful
crows.
Brooms lie about
for the universal purpose
of cleaning; their cauldrons are for soups
and sauces
and other such sustenance.
What I’ve learned about witches
is that they’re able, when pressed and pressured,
to stay afloat and withstand cruelty;
that they speak ugly truths
in foreign tongues,
to shed light
on societal righteousness.
They conjure whole worlds, safer worlds,
with just their minds
and
find it difficult
to overcome sadness.
What I’ve learned about witches,
in all my research
has led me
to an alarming
conclusion, that their traits
are really quite dangerously similar
to those of
writers.
Jenny Morelli is a high school English teacher who lives in New Jersey with her husband and cat. She is often either inspired by her students or else they’re triggering memories in her of when she was young and struggling with her self-confidence. She has been published in a number of literary magazines, including Spare Parts for a novel excerpt, Spillwords for several themed poems, and Bottlecap Press for her own chapbook This is Not a Drill.
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What you learned about witches is absolutely true and beautiful. The lonely part, as well, but nothing regretful about that. What you learned about witches is good to share, so thank you!
I really, really enjoyed this. It is not only a well-written verse, but it is a commentary on those that society and culture and environment shuns; not just witches, but the elderly, the disabled, the ill and the misunderstood amongst us. Thank you for sharing, Jenny.