Steemit Poetry Contest #13-Wanda The Wandless
Picture courtesy: Pixabay
So, this poem is a bittersweet ode to the practice of witch burning. This little girl finds a brimstone (sulphur) and is entranced by how it burns blue.
She finds it beautiful but she knows she lives in a time when anything out of the ordinary is frowned upon. So, she sneaks of at night from her home to watch the stone burn in its eerie blue manner.
Little does she know that the same fire will be her downfall.
Wanda is odd, she likes odd things, and that is why she is persecuted. This poem is about how chemistry was perceived in the middle ages.
In Alchemy, the Leviathan Cross is a symbol of Sulfur, as it is considered as one of the basic elements of nature. Leviathan Cross is incidentally the symbol of Satan. When something was not understood, like chemistry, it was usually associated with the devil.
In this case, I've portrayed how the lack of knowledge and fear of something different is what led to Wanda's destiny. Also, the fact that it was mostly women who were victimized in this case. Had Wanda been a man, probably she would have been rewarded. I'm not saying men were not persecuted but the women far outnumbered the men.
One of the most important things that is parallel to the witch burnings of medieval times is the “fake news” of recent times. How extremism and lack of education induces fear leading to hysteria.
The poem is simple in construct because part of it is from the point of view of a child. I’ve also slipped in an alliteration here.
Wanda wore her cloak, crept out of her home,
when she felt she was safe, she set fire to the stone.
'Twas a curious rock, of the colour of the sun,
burning like the morning sky, when the deed was done.
Wanda liked Odd things, even she was odd,
Often the victim of minds more flawed.
The smell it evoked was like death incarnate,
And spread like the wildfire of hate.
Which wouldn't worry Wanda, but the fanatics were awake,
'Twas cast in that stone, she was burnt at the stake.
For in a man society will find a way to venerate,
What in a woman is the alchemy of hate.
I had a debate with someone over why poetry, the person ion question thought poetry to be meaningless and redundant. But he liked music.
Poetry is the music of words, the rhyme and rhythm. It is the stringing together of words in a necklace that was never created before.
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
It is optimistic, and hopefully it's true :)
That is just ridiculous, so music is not redundant?
I am amazed by that logic.
It is just an analogy to show that if you like rhyme and rhythm in music esp rap , why is poetry different, I don't isolate poetry and music. I tried not to write the entire conversation in there( would have been a rant)
Yes, I just don't understand how that person can say that one type of art is not an art, and yet another completely similar IS. It just doesn't make sense, because the music and poetry are almost teh same thing.