I like it @diebitch (hmm, gotta say ur name but don't mean it :).

I also like the story which leads into your poem and what it illustrates. And I agree: witch-hunts are still taking place in our modern era, under our eyes and in our names. They still target innocent scapegoats amongst the minorities and those who behave or think differently. Good news of course is that humanity is collectively waking up and will, I believe, reject the deluded practice of witch-burning eventually :).

I hear what you are saying about men! I'm not partisan by any means - I know I will have taken births in female form many times, and will again. I agree that it is mostly men that have embodied the extremes of this oppression, although the energies themselvs are gender-neutral! Certainly unrestrained masculine energy has dominated, controlled and created conditions of utter misery throughout history. But humanity has played that game to its near limits, and now, I believe, a shift is taking place. The feminine energies of nurturing and kindness etc etc are emerging as the next item on the list for humanity to play with, balancing and clearing out the old, spent and no-longer-required stuff, as healing takes place.

Such is my (optimistic?) response to the sentiments I sense in your post. Here's a link to my entry, it also takes benign view of 'witches'.

Namste and the very best of wishes to you