Old Woman’s Instructions to a Girl in Love
by Patricia | 2.10.10Catch a white mare and bridle her
With an ivy bridle; braid her mane
With marigolds; go in the slender
Light with her to the water tender
Where the fish rise and count the flames.
Free the mare; if she trumpets like a swan,
Say your beloved’s name and pray till dawn.
Mask your body with horsemint; turn
Away from the sun; do not go toward
It all day; do not wash or burn.
Fiddlehead of the hart’s tongue fern—
Seethe it in milk; eat it from a gourd.
If you meet him keep your body mute.
Pick no flower dove and eat no fruit.
February 16th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Patricia,
This had many flickering images in it for me, things I didn’t expect to come across today. I also like the tag “obscure advice”. I want that on a rubber stamper.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:29 am
“Flickering images”–cool, that’s one of the effects it’s going for. This is an old poem, and the creative writing teacher involved argued it needed commas to clarify meanings. I wanted the effect of hearing someone tell you something–you can’t always distinguish in a person’s voice where their commas fall. The results can include run-on sentences and strange phrases, like “pick no flower dove,”especially for untrained ears. If I wanted to drive that point home more, I’d trim out more punctuation. Maybe I’ll do that! Could be fun.
Thanks for commenting, Lora.