A Winters Walk in the Witches Wood

something for Halloween

fingers run through your hair,
a kiss, 'Good morning, I love you,
lets go for a walk today'.

eyes glare, wanting to sleep,
day in bed, days in bed,
'It's cold outside....'


skin shivers as water washes,
you are awake now,
body beautiful, wrapped in towels.

breakfast fills inside,
we are warm together,
winter falls outside our window.


boots slide on,
gloves, scarves and woolly hat,
all wrapped up.

leaving our home,
door closed, wishing us back,
hand in hand we move.

through roads, pathways,
muddied tracks to the wood,
breath blows chilled.

bowed trees form a walkway,
enticing us forward,
we are bonded by love.

into a new world we trek,
silence greets us,
eeire weirdness awaits.

pick a flower for a buttonhole,
smile for a sneaky kiss,
air becomes heavy in mist.

sudden darkness, we huddle,
in the place by the tower,
dead plants all around.

crack, snap and crackle,
upon us is she, dark laughter,
makes the wood shake.

'What brings you here,
with happiness and light?
That is not the spirit of my home'.

we shudder, stand scared,
the witch casts her spell,
trying to send us to dark depths of hell.

together we scream,
not sure of escape,
as we run and shout to find a way out.

when we do the sun shines,
resting in each others arms,
away from the wood, in each other's charms.

Reviews

[R J Askew]

I see the wood as a state of mind. Everything feels fine and normal up until 'bowed trees form a walkway' when things start to close in. Sudden darkness could be the onset of a depression. Like 'What brings you hear with happiness and light?' The witch seems almost reasonable. It is we who walk into her estate, not her who comes after us. But we escape... This time! 'Silence greets us' is a key line, as silence undermines and unhinges, especially in woods and other dark places where we might feel lost. The Germans are very keen on woods I believe. We Brits have chopped all ours down. The tower seems to be a forbidding power. The dead plants seem to suggest nature's fertility thwarted, the opposite result to what love hopes for. Enjoyed the read. Like the subtle shift from the comfort and certainty at the the top to the opposite.

[Fantasyfairy]

The rhythm and flow of this piece carries it along so effortlessly. It's a poem so wrapped up in metaphors but so subtly done you could read the poem as it was written and still enjoy it. I love the way each stanza is stuttered into the next, as if it were a drum beat being missed each time. XX

[Fabian G. Franklin]

a great trip for halloween, glad you escaped the witch lol

[Last Lying Look]

I really liked this.
It had a magical sense to it which was almost calming.
I really like this :)
Excellent work!
-E.M.R
p.s: awesome title

[Celtic Cat]

excellent!!! You never know what a walk in the woods will bring..... especially if someone has already claimed the woods for their own! A nice tale for the season!! Thanks for sharing!!

[Nicole (Carpe Diem)]

oh i enoyed reading this - great piece of writing...

[Spat Queen]

This is my kind of romance. I love the way this reads, it flows so well and the story it tells is almost like a song you want to listen to over and over.
together we scream,
not sure of escape,
as we run and sout to find a way out.

when we do the sun shines,
resting in each others arms,
away from the wood, in each other's charms.

I LOVE the end.
This made my favorites.
Happy season.