33
witching
by Larry Thacker
We have a cousin that witches lost graves.
Uses copper wires held, elbows bent,
lines twisting in the loose grip and crossing
as she passes over a lost, stone-less grave.
I’ve wondered how anyone would realize
such talent. Is the thing taught? Expected
from birth? Or might anyone do it with faith
in the give of soft ground underfoot from
the fading body’s hint of exhaling voice?
Does a dowser’s curious aura interact with
the deteriorating aura of the bored dead?
How does one grade a sinking bit of ground
against just a piece of earth that’s given up?
Some claim they can cypher the dead’s gender,
the wires opening and closing as you stand
over these prone memories, estimating
heights, ages, and even a cause of death.
I don’t know if copper is the only element
for witching. What of willow and pendulum?
I’d say anything a spirit moves upon will work,
even the soft word near one’s ear and cheek.