POEM — Blessing of the Moon

Child, no longer

You join our circle;

Witches come of age,

Ah, you stand before me, blood stained, and

Reeking of blood,

Flesh churned within your womb;

Join us for now and forever

A life of creation – and destruction –

All at the hands of the tide, or –

The cycle of the moon –

Ebbing and flowing within your body;

Blood streaming

Down your thighs

River of darkness

Trickling down flesh, and

Catching

The light of the moon.

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Merida Bartley is a practicing Wiccan who celebrates the celestial in daily life. She lives on a ranch in Oregon with her partner and rescued cats. Her work appears in many places, including the Rattler, Crazy Horse, and Belladonna. Be sure to check out her fiction piece, First Blood, as part of Twisted Sister’s On the Rag issue.