When The Winds Come

And when the winds come, when they come

they will tear at your tears and your lashes

they will tear at your poor mother's ashes

And when those have spilled into autumn air, you will reach for the dust, crumbled bone everywhere you will catch not a mote, you will tear at your hair -

you were trusted with your poor mother's ashes

tears fall thick from your eyelashes And when the cold grows, down the path go the night seeps in, it will threaten

the night will curl round, feel it pressing

For when the winds come, when they come they will tear at your ankles and fingers they will echo back all of your whimpers

The forest will swallow your calls and cries As they spill into the autumn night air, you will twist, eyes widened for there -

there, you will see the witches gathered three laughing and adding the ash to their tea

And once horror wrests its cry from your throat they will survey you, familiar in glances

they will beckon, summon you over fences

And when the eldest of the coven really sees you

she will whisper to each witch beside her

and nudge forward her spectral sister And when the tangled roots and knots of hair settle,

this vision will seem too familiar

the grandmother who once held you near -

your stomach drops with recognition as

you behold this apparition For when the winds come, when they come they will blow loose your mourning veil

they will lead you down a less-trod trail

And when the dead women, waiting for you encircle you with their thin arms you will be made stronger for their charms

When you find your ancestors in the forest

they will welcome you into the fold

they will tell what your mother never told -

your eyes drop shut and burst open, they cleave

you understand for the first time you will never leave

When the winds come, when they come

You will lift from your bed and step out

You will walk nightly through the woods, barefoot

The winds, when they come, will tear flesh from the bone

The winds when they come will pull you from your home

The winds when they come will awake all those resting

The winds when they come will unleash all those dustings,

those smatterings of lost ones, those buried, those ashed

The winds when they come will bring voices from your past The winds when they come grab children by the hair

The winds when they come will pluck planes from the air

The winds when they come will cause automobile crashes

and blackouts and rainfall and whistles and moans

and curses and rattlings of rusty old keys,

will pull frightened parishioners down to their knees,

will thump through the attics and cause sails to tear -

you will not be scared you walk, guarded by your old mother's ashes.

Solana Rose has been pursuing cinematic adventures in LA, taking every opportunity to paint sets, hunt for props, snack at craft tables, and edit scripts. When she is not vividly dreaming, you can find Solana painting, writing, or driving solo on any given freeway with the rock up and the windows down.

Instagram: instragram.com/solanarose94/

Website: solana-rose.com

#poetry #vol6 #halloween #boneandink #solanarose #witches #magic #death