Contributor: Susie Gharib

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In her magic sacred rites
she observes animal rights
so no ass's genitals will be boiled
so as to enhance a lover's performance
no lizard's tail will be cut
with which to touch a partner's butt
and make her thus forget him not.

Her cauldron is a butter-cup
which bubbles with dew
and a few tear-drops
all seasoned with a ripple's froth
to simmer in the sun
until dusk.

Her wand is a bough
from a Hibernian oak
deftly severed
by a thunder's stroke
one dip in the potion
and it starts to crawl
scribbling instructions
on a circle of logs
her Log-henge
if I may have recourse
to metaphors.

Her incantations are the murmurs of shells
the susurration of winds
in their ecstatic dance
the patter of rain
in its Spring elegance
to entrance
to transport a pining dame or lass,
ensconced within her father's glance,
from the turret of her kitchen
into your one-room flat
on the wings of a single chant.


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Susie is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow) with a Ph.D. on the work of D.H. Lawrence.