Slow Heat, and: The Witch, and: Conversion, and: Testimony, and: Redemption, and: Cover the Mirrors

Abstract

Slow Heat, and: The Witch, and: Conversion, and: Testimony, and: Redemption, and: Cover the Mirrors Tina Parker (bio) SLOW HEAT High strungThey called herUnsettledWe come homeShe'd clawed her a notchJerked the planks right outSaid the witch needed her. Ginseng they saidEase the hippoHelp her sleepStart slowBuild the doseNone of us knewWhat it would takeTo smother her. [End Page 37] THE WITCH We try the old waysWild geraniumTo stop the bleedingDevil's clotheslineFor the burns and soresBut our apron strings fallLoose our shoes will not stayTied the beds rise upWe wind up on the floorThe clothes hung on the lineTorn off till all we can doIs spread ourselves out on the grassAnd wait. [End Page 38] CONVERSION I saw I had to go down to the devil's hellThat was my home. I didn't want to give upWorldly things but when the Lord got me readyI came leaping and jumping. I fell down on my kneesAnd said "Lord if you will save meI'll do anything you want me to do." Of course he sent me to the yellow split levelAt the edge of a farmWhen I was a child I spoke to the horseAt the fence, fed it sugar cubesWhen I was a child I thought I was savedI read Revelation. The horse was a white horseClothed in a robe dipped in bloodHis name was The Word of GodAnd I was the rider named Faithful and True. High-headed people, I tell youSometimes it's hard to get humbleI'm no longer a childI don't care for the things I used to loveThe farm is row after row of housesThe horse is a pale green horseOut to kill with a sword, with famineAnd pestilence. There was never anyoneWho could save us. [End Page 39] TESTIMONY They told the judgeI sat before an open fireFell right into itBut wasn't a hair on my head singed. They recalled my visionA prophetess wearing clothesThe color of rotten grassesGrounding sage to a fine powderThey said I put it in their teaTold them to drinkAnd be sanctifiedSaid their throats burnedClaimed they could not speak. The minister said he'd seen manySlain in the spirit but not meSaid I was differentThat he felt directed to signAs witness. [End Page 40] REDEMPTION The minister says I'm aliveThrough grace saysThey may never knowWhat rendered me silentHe tells them to prayThe spirit gives several messagesIn other tongues Praise the Lord They shout Praise the LordThe women place a BibleUnder my pillow I dreamMy voice returnsI point to the ministerBut no one listens. [End Page 41] COVER THE MIRRORS, I told themOn and on they holleredIn prayerTheir palms pressedOil to my forehead I'll fly away oh glory I'll fly away in the morning. . .They faked my healingI cannot account for what evilMay enter. [End Page 42] Tina Parker Tina Parker's new poetry collection will be published in late fall 2020. She is the author of the poetry chapbook Another Offering and the full-length poetry collection Mother May I. Her work has received support from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and has appeared in Still: The Journal, Pen+Brush, Rattle, Literary Mama, and PMS: poemmemoirstory. Copyright © 2019/2020 Berea College