"A Witches Prayer" (Entry 163)

In the end, we prayed.

Crowded together in the cells.

The only water from the damp rocks.

We chanted for help.

In the end, that was all we could do.

Persecuted for being different,

for being healers... and female.

Accused of dancing with the devil.

UNTRUE! NOT RIGHT!

Guilty in their eyes, but not ours.

We lived in harmony with nature

and nurtured the gifts of cosmos.

But we lived in a man's world

who would turn any phrase to suit himself.

So we prayed for death.

Not revenge for their actions,

or to die by their hand -

in torture - in flames - in agony beyond screams.

Their punishment. And they called us evil.

We prayed that we would be taken in this night,

before dawn's discovery.

To go to our light, in our rightful place, at our choosing.

Not suicide, but a request - granted.