“The
Wicked Witch”
She
told me she was a witch
And
she did cast a certain dark magic
Painting
herself with a false glamour
And
a certain genteel need.
But
eventually the magic blew away
Like
stale chaff on the wind
Redolent
with the smell of rot
Leptospirosis
and dirty ashtrays
Revealing
a face scarred with avarice
Carefully
manicured nails grasping
The
genteel need replaced by spite
And
all consuming greed.
She
told me she craved the company
Of
old soldiers, loving the smell
Of
sweet gun oil on sunburned skin
The
faint whiff of cordite and adrenaline
But
it was our stories she wanted
To
steal them and adopt them as her own
So
that the seven stone weakling appear giant
A
‘Rupert’… a born leader of men!
When
I gave her no stories of blood
She
stole, instead, my money
Eleven
Thousand Pounds credit
On
which I still pay interest!
Eleven
thousand pounds
Of
my son’s inheritance, who never did her wrong
And
she thinks herself worthy to lecture
On
Honour and Integrity?
She
told me in her own land
She
was a Princess. But in my land
Her
own words label her LIAR
Her
actions brand her THIEF
I
am only a crippled old soldier
And
my sins are too many to name
But
I never stole from comrade or lover
Give
me back my “shilling a day”!
Like
the pi-dogs of the desert
She
scavenged behind the march
But
she’s not welcome in the camp
And
she is unfit
To
sit
At
my small fire
Copyright © Res JFB 13th May 2013
To put anybody's mind at rest I wrote this a long time ago and the financial situation has changed since then.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem. I hope it was cathartic.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteI actually wrote it two or three years ago when the anger was hot and all the 'she's' were 'you's', but I recently edited it. By changing all references to third person singular it became less accusatory and more narrative.
After selling my house, and promptly renting it back, I paid off all her debts and all of mine. So at least I'm not being bombarded by crippling interest rates.
We live and learn! Life is a Rich Experience, provided you've got ya Mojo workin'! LOL
This poem has just been selected as Elbow Lane Poetry's 'Poem of the Day'. 17th May 2013.
ReplyDeleteElbow Lane has some of the best current poets posting, so it is a great honour.
I am delighted!
Excellent!
DeleteThank you Rosemary. That means a lot to me, coming, as it does, from you! xxx
Delete