Kitchen Witch - Poem #97

The kitchen witch still hangs in the window
dangling from a string
along with the spirits
and distant echos

She moves
ever so slightly
as if a ghost had passed
a little too close

The sun shines on her
and on the button
the witch always wears;
“I heart Rhode Island”

Empty rooms
now waiting for new life
furniture marks on carpet
ashes in the fire place

Stillness in the living room
sounds of Jobim
remembering Gamboa
embedded in the walls

The bedroom silent
except for faint echos
of passion and love
the children didn’t hear

He takes the kitchen witch
and with one last look
closes the door
and carries her to the car

She sits near to him
on the front seat
next to the bronze box
engraved with pine needles

And the kitchen witch says
“You mustn’t look back”
as he points the blue jeep south
toward the sun.

.

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Sadness hangs over this one. It sounds like the beginning of a major life change. The kitchen witch is the last remnant of the old life, and the speaker takes her with him as a sort of connection to there past. But her last words are really his. The past is now dead. A very moving piece.

[toritto]

Thanks for the kind words John, I lost my wife at a relatively young age in 2004. My daughters, who still lived with me at the time and I decided to start anew in Florida. They are now happily married and on their own. The kitchen witch now hangs in my eldest daughter's home. Best regards from Florida.