As a child she wandered the wilderness
Finding no gentleness
Only sticks of insult and stones of abuse
An unwilling jester without any useHer heart grew cold and petrified
Her cheeks ashen by all the tears she cried
Her eyes saw no love or wonder
Her soul torn asunderShe thought herself an utter fool
So strange others found leave to be cruel
She thought she was born all wrong
Destined to never belongThen one day she helped an old crone
Who seemed to know her, head to feet and skin to bone
– Girl you need to find your lune
Need to listen to your soul-hearts tuneFrom that day her life took a turn
In the coven she was never spurned
They taught her all they knew
Until she free and fearless grewThey showed her what it meant to be loved and cherished
They cared for her until she flourished
They knew how to heal the wounds abuse inflicts
Until she rose from the hell fire like a newborn PhoenixShe who had know ostracization firsthand
©RedCat
Became abandoned and abused souls firebrand
When the coven saw how she shielded and healed the wounded
The witches named her Dark Orchid
Written for April Ekphrastic Challenge hosted by Paul at The Wombwell Rainbow, which of course coincides with GloPoWriMo 2021.
Inspired by the artwork by Kerfe Roig with three words from the Skyloverswordlist. My three chosen words are, Dark Orchid, Wilderness and Wonder.
To see all art and read all poems for today click here.
To read more ekphrastic poems by me click here.
Also shared to open link night at dVerse.
Kerfe Roig A resident of New York City, Kerfe Roig enjoys transforming words and images into something new. Her poetry and art have been featured online by Right Hand Pointing, Silver Birch Press, Yellow Chair Review, The song is…, Pure Haiku, Visual Verse, The Light Ekphrastic, Scribe Base, The Zen Space, and The Wild Word, and published in Ella@100, Incandescent Mind, Pea River Journal, Fiction International: Fool, Noctua Review, The Raw Art Review, and several Nature Inspired anthologies. Follow her explorations on her blogs, https://methodtwomadness.wordpress.com/ (which she does with her friend Nina), and https://kblog.blog/, and see more of her work on her website http://kerferoig.com/
April Ekphrastic Challenge – GloPoWriMo 2021
- 1 April – Dark Orchid
- 2 April – A Dirge for the Drowned
- 3 April – Granddaughters of Red Riding Hood
- 4 April – Raven Dream Flight
- 5 April – It’s Spring Time Again and The Sweetest Wine – A Quadrille
- 6 April – There Once Was A Cat and To All The Good Girls
- 7 April – Mind Finds Soul Fearlessly Shines
- 8 April – Trapped, Imprisoned In Her Own Mind – A Triple Triolet and Ode To My Dream Girl
- 9 April – The Aurora Butterfly – A Sonnet
- 10 April – The Dawn Sky Is Ethereal Blue – A Triolet
- 11 April – Blue Forest Of Remembrance
- 12 April – Incantation to Bau-Gula – A Sonnet
- 13 April – The Stars Are Out Tonight – A Villanelle and Cat Searching High and Low
- 14 April – Shadow People Before My Eyes – A Triple Triolet
- 15 April – Three Times Three Times Three
- 16 April – Autumn feast – A Sonnet
- 17 April – In The Badger Sett
- 18 April – Hellcat
- 19 April – Life Lessons and No Bother! – A Quadrille
- 20 April – Fairy Dust Magic – A Trio Of Ovillejo’s and Crows Calling At Night
- 21 April – Polished Mirror Women – Dedicated to Marisol
- 22 April – Word Salad and A Beltane Song
- 23 April – Floating Around Everywhere and Oh Bother! – A Quadrille in Ovillejo Form
- 24 April – A Thousand Paper Cranes
- 25 April – Change and Restless Body and Mind
- 26 April – Through Hell
- 27 April – Weaving Web and Another Piece Of The Puzzel – A Puente Poem
- 28 April – Sounds In The Wind – A Puente Poem
- 29 April – Fire That Burns Away All Fears – A Sonnet and Blackbirds Dusk Sings
- 30 April – Star Prayer – A Sonnet
I love this special tale….and most especially the collage with the Wicked green witch! A different take on the Ugly Duckling tale. Wonderful!
Reblogged this on The Wombwell Rainbow.
I like the way you told a tale using Kerfe’s image. I could see more tales about her.
I especially love the glimpse of undeniable strength in; “Until she rose from the hell fire like a newborn Phoenix.” Beautiful, beautiful writing 💝💝
What a wonderful tale!
Finding one’s power is such an adrenalin rush. Beautifully illustrated with the colorful collage!
Loved this, I would definitely read more about a witch named Black Orchid!
We all have our own tribe.
Helene, I love this happy turn! And I love the whole poem!
<3
David
This is a wonderful and inventive poem: I love the way the victim was taken under the wings of the coven and transformed into a dark orchid!
“She who had know ostracization firsthand
Became abandoned and abused souls firebrand”
I enjoyed this fantasy tale of finding one’s true self, true beauty forged in fire and especially paying it forward. Some have their patron saints, but I love the idea of a patron witch.!
Excellent post for this April 1st. Be nobody’s fool. Love Kerfe’s work.
Stunning ~ from Kerfe’s art thru the stunning poem!
This is mesmerising and beautifully told. 😍