The Absence of the Witch

National Poetry Writing Month starts tomorrow! The early bird prompt was to take inspiration from an Emily Dickinson poem, and the line "the absence of the Witch does not / Invalidate the spell" captured my imagination. I also had to write a narrative of any person or character for one of my classes, so these two prompts were combined to create this poem

small jewel-colored butterflies flutter around

her blackberry and raspberries bushes

that she had nurtured from small seeds,

they blanket the decaying wooden floors

and makes a home in the rusting cauldron.

the gentle perfume of lilacs

glides through the empty window frame

fluttering the ghostly remains of her curtains.

dusty vials with glittering potions rest undisturbed

alongside ancient tomes with fading letters

in her hidden home deep in the forest.

she has been forgotten and

the path that meanders to the village

has been reclaimed by the undergrowth,

but her magic isn’t gone

from the village she has nurtured.

the forest shelters them from calamity and conquest,

their fields grow with reckless abandon ,

the villagers carefully hand down healing recipes,

and the whimsy of butterflies and scent of lilacs

lingers in their homes and hearts.