Followers

Saturday 11 August 2012

THE DRUIDESS



'She's a bit weird,' they said,
hurrying past her place as if being different
was somehow contagious.

A Green Man stood sentry by the front door,
and a miniature Stonehenge dominated
an unmowed, weed-conquered lawn.

Deadly nightshade and foxgloves grew profusely
along it's borders, and from the roof of her shed
hung bunches of drying herbs.

'She's either a Witch or a mad woman,' they surmised,
wondering if that freshly-dug patch of soil
might be the grave of some hapless victim.

She'd cast a spell on her next door neighbours,
they knew, because the daughter ran away;
the cat was run over; and then they split up.

That house had been on the market
for over six months as no one would touch it
because she'd been seen, they'd heard,
performing some sort of ritual in billowing robes:

wafting incense smoke over the fence
while chanting in tongues, ringing bells
and whirling like a Dervish.

'She should be locked away,' they concluded,
'from normal decent people like us:
not be allowed to roam free and corrupt
our children with her devilish ways!'

She packed her belongings and quietly departed
soon after those harsh words reached her ears.
And they patted themselves on the back with pride
for ridding their town of her evil presence.



New people live there now who tell
of amulets of love and healing they've found,
and of the tranquil atmosphere inside their home.

'She was a wonderful person - we really liked her.
We can't imagine why why she left,'
they say now, with averted eyes
and fingers crossed behind their backs.

And their words belie a nervous unease.
Do they truly believe themselves jinxed?
Or is it simply the working out
of a Universal rule that decrees:
Your every deed, whether good or ill
will return to you in kind - times ten?

8 comments:

  1. Ah such a beauty = wonderful image and poem I do so believe in the Universal Rule - wow delightful indeed people are so quick to judge and fear of the unknown has led many a good person to do the most atrocious things to a fellow human being. Full marks dear lady!

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    1. Thank you so much dear friend!
      It seems I got my message across. So many people are misunderstood simply because they appear to be different to the majority.
      Appearances can be so deceptive sometimes :)

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  2. Poor woman was chased away because of peoples innuendo, heresay, lack of understanding, suspicion and closed minds.

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    Replies
    1. That is exactly the message I was trying to get across. Thank you so much, Windsmoke, for your understanding :)

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  3. wonderful poem. people are so quick to judge out of fear. it's so sad. what wonders we could all hold in our hearts if we stretched them past the confines of our minds.

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    1. That is so true.
      I wonder what it is in our mental makeup that predisposes us to judge others by their appearance.
      I think you've 'hit the nail on the head' here. We need to learn to see with the heart, rather than the head.
      Many, many thanks :)

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  4. Thank you Gnome.
    I guess all we need is to allow our prejudices to flow downstream and over the precipice!!
    Nice thought...:)

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