The One-Eyed Witch

Lavern lived down in the valley

Away from the village folk,

She didn’t want to be seen by them

Playing with eggs and yolk,

And skin of frog, an old dead dog

A toad and the eye of newt,

She only conjured them in the fog

When dressed in her birthday suit.

But I would see her abroad in the woods

From up in the old oak tree,

She flitted naked under a hood

Albeit most carelessly,

She liked to gather her toadstools there

And take her favourite bat,

Clinging onto her long, dark hair

And follow her magical cat.

The mushrooms grown in a Faery Ring

Were an ever present danger,

For goblins gathered them all themselves

For a goblin baby’s manger,

She’d lost an eye in a goblin pie

When he reached on out and plucked it,

She got it back, but the dwarf was sly

In the sauce she’d used, he’d ducked it!

I didn’t mind that she’d got one eye

For her thighs were well developed,

I thought I’d marry her, by and by,

Then she went with Rodney Mellop,

I wandered up to her window-sill

When I heard his sighs and moans,

I thought they must have been making love,

She was hanging up his bones.

I must admit that it calmed me down,

That it put a damper on it,

I’d watched him lie in her pot and drown 

As she danced in a pretty bonnet,

His bones she pulled from the boiling stew

And made wind chimes from his femurs,

At night they sound like a xylophone

In a madhouse full of dreamers.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[ROXANE DORSEY]

such a good ending I really like this thanks for sharing.

[Katherine Solis]

I absolutely adore this poem. Particularly the last lines, "At night they sound like a xylophone/ In a madhouse full of dreamers." A masterful conjuring of images in just these two lines! Thank you for sharing such a great piece.

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Such a twist to the end of this tale...good write...David...

[Leslie Philibert]

David, is, I know, rightly well liked and is featured a lot on various sites. Good poem.

[Tony Jordan]

Awesome tale of the unexpected Dawei.
Will make me stop and think think time a woman asks me in for a meal methinks.
Brilliant!!

[Coyote Poetry]

A very entertaining tale. Better to be second best than the soup. Thank you David for for the amazing story in the poetry.
Coyote

[D Connolly]

Haha! Ol' Lavern! This is great, I was smiling from the beginning. I so love your poetry David, it makes me so happy! I try to read at least one a day :)

[barleygirl]

Thanks to Valentine's share, I'm glad I didn't miss this one. (Haven't been online as much in recent weeks). I love this for the playfulness, imagination, storyline, & excellent details. Your construction is perfection. Your mind is sprouting amazing ideas outside the dots to put together a tight enjoyable story here.

[Ted Kniffen]

A great bit of writing here, David. Good story, rhyming and meter. It flows nicely. Good write

[Avinash]

I must say you have strange taste in women. This one made quite an indulging read especially because the witch remained true to her craft and you kept the distance.