Hallows Everyday - 4

I have gone out, a possessed witch,

haunting the black air, braver at night;

dreaming evil, I have done my hitch

over the plain houses, light by light:

lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.

A woman like that is not a woman, quite.

I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods,

filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,

closets, silks, innumerable goods;

fixed the suppers for the worms and elves:

whining, rearranging the dis-aligned.

A woman like that is misunderstood.

I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,

waved my nude arms at villages going by,

learning the last bright routes, 

survivor where your flames still bite my thigh

and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.

A woman like that is not ashamed to die.

I have been her kind.

- Anne Sexton -

Devotional Activity: This is a time of remembrance, of our Ancestors of Blood, but also the Hidden Company, especially those who were accused of practicing the old artes and put to death. We should never forget the innocents, the midwives, the healers. Choose one night a week and light a candle for them from now until November 13th, remembering all of them. What were their lives like, did they love, were they lonely, did they take pleasure in the various tasks of their days? And... did some practice charms and spells, did they heal and hex? Perhaps the dead will speak if you remember.

Blessings dark and deep!