A Poem For Halloween

Dear ones,

Happy Halloween!  Today is my absolute favorite holiday.  In the spirit of the season, I have a poem for you.
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The Witch in the Woods

She drained me like a fevered moon

That saps the spinning world.

The days went by like shadows,

The minutes wheeled like stars.

-Edgar Lee Masters

I could say she cast a spell

or plied me with a special brew

arresting my traitorous mouth

with sinfully sweet libations.

But I was dumb, a puppy,

the very sight of her made me swoon

We made our way through cobblestone streets

into the forest on the town’s edge.

It was hot there, even for June.

She drained me like a fevered moon.

Her cottage kept me as a hostage.

Beneath the floorboards was my cage.

I begged and pleaded for release.

She giggled at me like a child,

her favorite pet to annoy or please.

In her ramblings my sanity unfurled.

She was my demon, lover, dream

becoming more real than I ever was.

She was everything mixed, swirled

that saps the spinning world.

Sunlight never touched my face

only faint orange light from her fire.

I fed on cracked bones from her meals

she claimed they were from babies

and I, at first, refused to eat.

Water reflected my image gaunt, sallow.

She said I was beautiful, eerie

coming down to visit and add new scars.

Many times I wished for the gallows.

The days went by like shadows.

She told me I could never leave,

a curse would age me and I’d die

turn into a pile of ancient dust

before I could travel ten feet.

But I couldn't bring myself to care

and hit her with my water jar

as she unlocked my cage to crawl in.

I raced out of the cottage, free.

The prettiest night, though I didn’t get far.

The minutes wheeled like stars.