Thread by @RCdeWinter

#poetry

the witch remembers

i never made it my business
to break hearts
collecting bits and pieces
of those broken puzzles
as my prize
although i will confess
that in devotion to my craft
i used the foolishness of men
to good advantage

in a brutal world
where women were enslaved
i forswore those chains
in favor of dark magick
it doomed me
ultimately
to a life alone

but better freedom
in its cold austerity
than the choking warmth
of being owned as property

now sitting
ancient and untouched by man
for many yea
i cast my memory backward
carefully re-stepping every crooked mile
of my journey
reexamining my choices
while i fondle fingerbones
collected from dead lovers

it is not without regret admixed with pride
that i see scattered
by the roadside of my days
the rusted shields and broken swords
of many brave contenders in the field

for i lived hard and lusty
and in my quest to own myself
left a trail of spent gladiators
in my wake

© 2014 RC deWinter
Published December 2018 i“From Whispers to Roars” @fwtr_litmag