The Witch's Defence by Paul Francis

This poem was written during the Out Here workshop on myths, last Saturday (17.1.09). Mitchell’s Fold is a stone circle on Stapeley Hill, Shropshire, near the Welsh border, and the poem incorporates a legend which offers one explanation for the ring of stones.

You’ve come to gloat, up here on Stapeley Hill,
where I’m encircled by a ring of stone.
So now you’re here, you gaze, and get your fill
of all that’s left of me, the evil crone.
What’s wrong with what I did? I used my head.
The milk came out, so I produced a sieve
and put the bucket underneath. They said
I used deceit; I say, initiative.
It was unlucky that the lightning came.
The cow saw what was up, and ran away,
which rapidly cut off the milk supply.
The angry locals, keen to place the blame,
became a hunting pack in search of prey.
That’s me. Bury the witch, and don’t ask why.