"She's a witch! She's a fiend!

She's in league with the devil!

Grab your torches and pitchforks,

And we'll banish this evil!"

They pillaged and plundered,

They torched and destroyed.

They drove me to darkness,

My vengeance deployed.

I sought out a witch

In my darkest despair.

Sold a piece of my soul

To avenge, so beware!

For I'm about to become

Your darkest nightmare.

With a sorcerer's curse,

My fate has been bound.

My dealings in death

And decay will astound.

With a kiss from my lips

 And a breath from my lungs

The dead will arise,

And, to my will, succumb.

The spirits, they clamor

And haunt at my side.

I'm their mistress of death!

And my will, they abide.

You once thought me dark,

Accusations from greed.

Gaze on this monstrosity created

From your dastardly deeds.

With my army of dead,

I'm retaking my home.

Amidst the carnage and rot,

I'm building my throne.

From my legion of corpses,

Flee in madness and terror.

Perhaps your shattered psyche

Can reexamine your error.

From your rapacity, I was created.

I'm a witch! I'm a fiend!

Now! Amidst the death and decay,

Bow down to your Queen.

Bleach the goddamn walls.

There's nothing left to see here.

Burn the bridges down.

Now the view will be clear.

Break the hunter's back.

Allow the prey to be free.

Bleed the candle black.

So no one here can see me.

Beat the bully red.

Till blood runs in his eyes.

Bury all your dead.

God will say goodbye.

Bleach.

Burn.

Break.

Bleed.

Beat.

Bury. 

Through the mists of frosted grass and icy underbrush,

You may think you hear him creeping.

Singing exquisite songs to rival that crafty Wood Thrush,

Even though he should be sleeping.

He might sound sweet and pleasant, and look just as such.

With his soft and silky coat, dull, but lovely just as much.

You'll want to travel far, simply to see his face.

He'll run and duck for cover, leading you into chase.

Mindlessly you'll follow, watching broad horns disappear.

Gallivanting, flitting, you leap across the weir.

Exhausted, exhilarated, your feet carry you on.

You can't quite seem to catch your breath; praying to Amon.

Since when did you have such devotion, to gods you couldn't see?

Since the demon of your frozen nightmares, tripled into three.

While steeped in sarcasm, I read an article on children

that have seen fairies to which I responded, “Pardon my

fly swatter.” It was too much for me to accept.

My childhood had died more than half a century ago.

Generally, I am not bitter. I give to my fellow

man, helped to raise some of my nieces and nephews,

I still feel empathy and sympathy for the less fortunate.

But fairies? Can a unicorn take me to where they

are? A knock at the door. A moonlit stallion, whiter

than the purest snow stabs me in the heart with

his only horn. I fall into a heap, later to

wake between two strong, enormous wings. I had never seen

the moon so large or close. The wind felt of

freedom. The steed galloped on clouds as if on solid

ground. Then, at the horizon, a new land, moving lights.

My heart sank with fear as I expected my sentencing.

The lights arranged themselves, a path for us to follow.

Singing! Angelic melody melded with harmony. I could feel Love!

At the center of the territory, brightest light. At the

bottom of what seemed to be temple steps, a couple.

The Couple. I jumped from the horse and bowed low.

I fell to my knees from the pain at my

back. I had been blessed with wings of my own!

“Fly!” The only word uttered and obeyed, if only I

were allowed to share, but this has to be lived!

I asked the hummingbird,

”Why do you keep singing

Even on rainy days?”

“I have two eggs in the nest

And they’re about to hatch.

The rain may make me cold,

But the eggs keep me warm.”

And the bird sang once again.

I asked the wolf,

“Why do you keep fighting

Knowing you could get hurt?”

“I want to get some food

So I can be strong for tomorrow

When my pack will go on a great journey.

A few scratches won’t bother me.”

And the wolf continued his hunt.

I asked the humpback whale,

“Why do you let barnacles

Attach themselves to your skin?”

“They barely even hurt

And wouldn’t it be great

To say I swam across the ocean

With barnacles on my back?”

And the whale kept swimming along.

I asked a giant sequoia tree,

“Why do you keep growing

Even after all these years?”

“My goal is to touch the moon

And I still have a ways to go.

Besides, growing is great-

With new heights come new views.”

And the tree looked back up at the moon.