he said
put away your witchy-wire woman
there’s no need for it here
I can find your water
well well clever man
show me where you say it lies
and let my boy tell you
where I found the precious life
and we’ll see
I don’t know where it came from
but my sister and I
both could follow the water lines
from when we were kids
there was no laid pipe could hide from us
each one we found
my grandfather had the gift himself
but he didn’t teach it
old curmudgeon
he’d give you nothing
but his certainty and scorn
for me it’s a twist of gauge wire
with a short handle
and a long end out front
it acts up like a sudden song
when there’s water below
my hands grow hot
and close to blisters
if I hold the witch up
into the air
she spins like a mad thing
that’s the sign of water
I’m only a woman
and they say divining’s a man’s work
but I can hold the witchy wire
and when I tell you
here be water
be a man
and dig
so he went through the paddock
and he declared it
here and yes
it’s here
and so it was
for my boy confirmed
that the wire in my hand
had seen those places
before him
~
-
Author:
Frank Prem (
Offline) - Published: November 20th, 2017 00:20
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 25
- Users favorite of this poem: b-LAH-que
Offline)
Comments6
This poem doesn't have the type of schema I'm usually attracted to, but I went ahead and read it through anyway, and I'm very glad I did! What a fascinating new dimension to poetry I feel capable of seeing thanks to it. Thanks for sharing!
Well that's lovely. Thanks for reading and thank you for your comment. So glad you enjoyed the piece. Cheers.
I always love your 'scheme' Frank and this is super and love the story behind it
Thanks Michael, I pretty much wrote it as I heard it.
People have interesting tales to tell.
Good write Frank.
Cheers O. Thank you.
what a wonderful story you have created here. brilliant work, Frank.
Hi Kevin. Thank you. It was a great tale to hear in the first person.
and a great tale in the 1st degree. well done.
I once hired one of these gifted "Dousers" to find a new well location on my property. It produced 15 gallons a minute! Even toyed with the practice myself. It works for anyone to a degree.
Good write on the topic, Frank!
It's a fascinating skill. Thanks Louis. When I need a drink, I'll call.
Great poem, Frank, about something that was very special. Nowadays I guess we use radar or some other technology, which is not so magic anymore.
I think you're right, Fred. My hunch is that the old timers that are left double check in their own way - to be sure.
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