I will bet this life
Jeanne d’Arc heard voices
and so do I: Not angels
or other spirits,
but voices of women called witches
or even saints
after their ashes cool.
But she, and they
were silenced, and the murmurs I hear
are of the dead,
and they are faint whispers
and stories suggested
and never seen.
I will speak for them
as they have no breath left:
In my burning,
I am the woman whose tongue turns flame,
who cannot know silence:
To know if a woman
was a witch or not,
they dragged her
into deep water;
and the weight of her clothes
and her innocence
pushed her under, into
forever silence.
Still,
if she floated somehow,
came up choking
and hungry for air,
then she was a witch
who deserved burning.
More likely than not,
she was a woman
who loved God, but
who once spoke her truth,
or looked at another woman
sideways in anger,
or smiled at the wrong man.
Not I,
if I were so accused
as innocent as I am of magic,
upon my burning
I would be the woman
whose burning
becomes spectacular,
who later dances incandescent
on the ceilings
of my judges’ houses;
come to take what I can
from the men who burned me
and then had the nerve to sleep soundly.
I would walk in dreams naked,
long of tooth, red-eyed,
stealing blood and semen.
**** Here is what I could reconstruct of that damned lost poem. Don’t know if I recalled all of it, but the voice sounds about right.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
A subject that resonates deep in my… loved it.
Thanks, Nelle–I think I captured most of the old poem, but will have to see if my initial memories dig anything else up 🙂
Nelle–don’t know if you saw this one–this shows my politics a bit more seasoned:
http://wp.me/s2lN8u-xx
This is powerful and beautiful! Touch this woman, try to quech her voice, try tying her or her convictions to the stake and your peace, your tranquility and masculinity would be at stake forever. The innocent souls of women and other oppressed finds a clear voice in this poem that rages against the results of prejudice and sexism! wll done, Susan. You have a voice and you use it well!
Thank you so much Noel–still trolling my memory for the rest of it–this was the favorite poem of my 20s.
Glad you liked it–calling me on my “Lost Poem” temper tantrum about not being able to find this one prompted me to try to drag it out of memory.
YOUR BONDING TO THE POEM MUST HAVE BEEN VERY STRONG FOR YOU TO RECALL SO MUCH AFTER SO LONG!
Noel–Yes, I loved it–the first poem I allowed myself to be inspired by anger–but it was so much more than that 🙂
I also have been blessed/cursed with an almost eidetic memory–I say almost, because I can’t remember exactly how I ended this…..
Have you listened to Leonard Cohen’s “The Song of Burnadette”? (My favorite version is by Jennifer Warnes) I thought of it immediately, though your humor and fury strike a different tone. The playfulness here really works. It’s funny how in our “modern” times we laugh at the idea of witches as dangerous and yet, the deep mystery that was associated with those women (and feared because it bespoke power) is something that shouldn’t be neglected or forgotten. That comes through here. It’s great.
Thank you, Jeremy–I am so glad Noel challenged me to somehow recover it from memory–it was the first thing I wrote I fell in love with. I like that you see the humor–most people lose it through reacting to the anger.
The “cosmic” things are always so serious and so funny (often all at once).
forgot to answer your question–I have not, but will try to find it to listen to.
>________________________________
I certainly think it is worth listening to.
looking for it now…
found it–gorgeous….
Susan,
Full of emotion. I see myself in there. Fierce!
Thanks, friend 🙂 I think we are all in there–hopefully scaring the sh—- well, crap out of anyone who would try to silence us….
No doubt. And I think it’s one of MY better qualities. Sure it is yours too….we are women hear us ROAR
Fascinating! I’m always intrigued by your writing ~Deborah
Thank you Deborah 🙂 You are a sweetie!
You’re welcome dear~you might think I’m crazy but thru your writing I feel a sincere affection for you ~ Thank you for being so open with your feelings & thoughts ~ Fondly Deb
Deb–that is a mutual fondness, and if we are both crazy, at least it is a mild, gentle kind of crazy 🙂