Witchdoctors

In Africa where I've settled for ages Witchdoctors are highly rampant so I wrote on that

The poor child groaned


while his mother moaned


''Ah, he's possessed,


Oh, he's been bewitched'',


Superstition bemoaned

.
To the witchdoctor she sped


and was back with murky potions


such yucky stinky lotions


Those mythical concoctions


The woman obeyed the wily witchdoctor


Placed belief in that traditional healer


and the poor child still groaned


but his mama no longer moaned


After two days of tribal treatment


and no lessening of predicament


she thought he needed something more potent


When all it turned out to be was a toothache dent!


But she would hear of no dentist


Like all quacks her witchdoctor had fooled her five senses


For his spells and his chants


and his mystical dance


held her too in a trance


Quite a weird weirdo is he


Beware the medicine- man!


The devious cunning shaman


Beware that vodoo magic and witchcraft


That so survive on the gullible and the daft.


Yet I was warned to be wary of pharmaceuticals too


They can be harmful chemicals in the long run for you

Author's Note

You can check out the top side pic by clicking on itv to zoom it.

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

All cultures, the most primitive to the most advanced, have their "witchdoctors." This poem certainly speaks to that and how we assign credibility and status to those who've convinced us of their healing powers. The US pharmaceutical industry has done this for many years, marketing their pills to the masses. We're now the most medicated country on the planet, and plagued with addiction. Your "warning" is one we should embrace. A powerful write with an important message for all people.

[barleygirl]

Amen on your comments about big pharm!

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hi poet Ray, yes true all cultures have them, ah yes the pharma is everywhere marketing so many pills some with strong side effects, once I read of the side effects for a med I was prescribed for flu and when it said death was one of the side effects I didn't take it, I took home remedies and recovered.
Thanks soo much for your super great thoughts on this , your comment is a worthwhile read for all,. Cheers!

[R.E. Ray]

You're welcome. Always a pleasure.

[Chris Shaw]

The pull of cultural ties, passed down through the ages. Almost brain washing. How do you change the habits of a lifetime? And then pharmaceuticals, not everyone is convinced by their effectiveness. Given the two I know which one I would opt for though. An interesting and well conveyed subject matter Zay Zay.

Chris

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hey Chris pal, howdy !! Nice to see you again, yeah some cultures the world over are caught in the trap of these witch doctors, some have died because of them. And yes pharmaceuticals too ESP if overused and misused and used very frequently for minor ails has caused many harmful side effects and problems and videos have proved of the commercial businesd interests of the big pharma industry and how there meds harm the body.
I believe for minor ails and ailments we can use natural home remedies and herbs those which don't have too many side effects like the ones I do for sore throat, tummy aches , blocked noses etc. ranging from garlic, table salt, baking soda, vinegar and such which really work for me and many.
Warmest thanks and regards dear friend, take care always 🌷

[Chris Shaw]

I also use table salt, vinegar, honey, lemon, baking soda and lavender for common ailments. Great minds think alike:)

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hee hee thanks for the laugh, you are the great mind poetess, I'm just listening and reading other great minds and mentors. 😇☺️

[Chris Shaw]

Read away and enjoy :)

[Gee]

I've been told that the only known vaccine for the coronavirus is to go into your local Chinese restaurant and after ordering your sweet and sour chicken balls (didn't realise they had balls!) you then have to luck the Chinese fellas left ear...honest.
Good afternoon ladeeeeeeez

[Gee]

luck..lick

[Chris Shaw]

Ha ha Gee, you mischief maker

[Carolynn]

There are no witch doctors that I am aware of in Canada but people do have many cultural beliefs so I’m sure this can relate anywhere. Some believe wholeheartedly in pharmaceuticals while others do everything in their power to avoid them. As for alternative medicines or herbal remedies - well they can be just as dangerous so what’s a person to do. Can’t we all just be healthy? This was a good read and a nice blend between prose and rhyme :)

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Wow nice to see some commenting without me asking, I usually have to remind to be read in the sea of poetry here. Oh I see , nice to know there aren't any witchdoctor said in Canada, there surely are shamans and voodoo in America though. Yeah a lot of people get by well these days without any allopathic pharmaceuticals and are all so against it and there are videos railing against its harms.
As for alternative medicines as in natural herbal I use honey, ginger, garlic, vinegar, and they do treat many ailments without side effects . But if you are talking Chinese herbal meds like ginseng or echinacea I'm sure those do have side effects you are right. Yeahh I wish we could be just healthy always lol 😄😇 but it seems it's not possible for this world,, surely in the hereafter in heaven that can be hoped for.
Oh yeahh mine is always usually a blend of rhyme and free verse, coz my muse can't always rhyme and needs to be inked anyway. Warmest thanks for comment, I'm excited about checking out your poems too now,

[Carolynn]

Thank you for your wonderful response :)

[barleygirl]

We have one of these running for president again. Your poem reveals the painful way we watch as the gullible eat up such nonsense as to be stunning in its blatancy. Your writing is a nice blend between being poetic & also using straightforward prose to set a scene in storytelling manner. I like how you toss in some rhyme in a haphazard way (I'm very regimented about rhyme, so I love seeing a poet use it loosely). Even tho this poem seemingly presents the witchdoctor, it also makes us wonder about his followers & the age-old question about how so many people can follow such illogical charlatans (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Oh my who would that be, running for president gah you made me giggle Margie,.
Ah and yeah I toss in my rhyme in a meandering way it following my muse rather than vice versa like conventional poets ah, coz my message is more wanting to be heard than the perfectness of rhyme or poetry.
Yeah the gullible who believe in these quacks seem to be in every corner of the planet. This poem is not against natural home remedies and herbs as some might have confused it to be. This is warning against the spell casting cauldron cooking chanting witchdoctor who claims to heal by rituals and fake potions of colours with no real medicine.
Warmest thanks for your fine remarkable comment on this poem, I'm soon off to read your wonders as well.

[barleygirl]

I understand how people might be defensive about home remedies, since there is a powerful force here that says people should only do things in a "medical" way & everything else is "alternative" . . . I can see how they might take your poem as a criticism of it, but it was easy for me to see that you are talking about the blind following of such things, not the intelligent choosing of an alternative healing path (((HUGS)))

[Dave]

I would imagine the belief in the power of the medicine man is a cultural thing. Mothers instinctively have abiding concern for the welfare of their children. I am sure that the medicine man has built up a self-serving distrust of modern day medicines. In some instances that distrust is well founded , but then ib too many others it worth listening to.
An interesting write. Take care - Dave

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hi, yeah you are right, such traditional healers practice in many cultures. Self serving distrust yeahh wow eloquently said and true as well as that distrust being well founded when mod meds cause major problems as well ESP if overused and relied upon for a mere sore throat. Honey and ginger garlic work well for that for me and my kids so I never buy allopathic for sore throats. Thanks soo much for a great lofty comment, best wishes,

[Dave]

I'm glad you found it worthwhile
Take care - Dave

[kentuck14]

Interesting you should mention pharmaceuticals after putting down witchdoctors. Many claim that natural medicine is the way to go. Perhaps. But I cannot totally agree that pharmaceuticals are bad either. Yes, they have side effects . . . but so too many illnesses. Thanks for sharing.
T

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hi , yeahh I'm on many poetry sites and some Americans railed to me about the harms of the big pharma and they were right too. And I did not at all mean natural medicine and natural home remedies and herbs etc when I criticised the witchdoctors who I see use mainly spells, black magic type voodoo ritual type methods which surely can not be trusted. I myself use many home remedies, homeopathy and prayer to God the healer for many ailments. When nothing works then I do use allopathy which is from plants too but overuse can cause immunity to the bacteria I read and have many side effects. Thanks soo much for your fine comment!

[AJNJ]

Healing by Faith or pharmaceuticals? Please take a clear stand, madam :)

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hmm thevwitchdoctors faith is a wrong faith what with black magic spells and weird rituals and chants, and even pharmaceuticals aleopathy has many side effects. My family uses homeopathy and natural medicine along with spiritual prayer to God the healer . We use also paths only when everything else fails and even allopathic remedies are made from plants so they can be used when necessary but not overuse for minor ills. Thanks Peston!

[AJNJ]

You are welcome :)

[Patricia Wedel]

We can be bewitched... in a good way also...
depends on the circumstances... your English poetry is well spoken. truly, Pat

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Bewitched by love , that could be good perhaps right? I wish unkind people could be bewitched into good, that would be good for all neh. Warmest thanks much for the feedback, decades of writing must have polished my English a bit but it can't be perfect like the ones whose mother tongue it is I feel.

[lightsong]

they are not only in Africa, but everywhere in this world, the less educated societies have the more amounts and effects of these practices, though I believe in Natural Medicines but not in the way of deceiving people with unbelievable actions. I like the way You ended this one, because as I said I believe in Nature and the Natural Healing. Good write my friend, Thank You for sharing Your experience with us.

[S.zaynab.kamoonpury]

Hi dear friend I wish to be urgently noted that in no way I was criticising natural medicine or herbal medicine, I was being against the witchdoctor type chants type treatment that sound like abracadabra and never really work. I myself use natural herbs and natural medicine but would never agree to a witchdoctor who claims to heal with spells and chanting and performing voodoo or other weird rituals that just don't sound reasonable. And you r right these quacks are there the world over. Warmest thanks for your thoughts on this, take care friend!

[lightsong]

don't worry my dear, I got and understood what You intended from the first read, that's why I agreed to Your poem and absolutely agree to Your comment :) of course You are so very welcome 💐