"The Witch" a poem by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

A poem from the public domain

Intro

March is Women’s History Month, so expect to see some poems by women (not just the ones by me).

In choosing this one, I was flipping through my Norton Anthology of Literature by Women and was caught by this poem’s straightforward language and striking imagery. I hope you get caught up by Mary Coleridge’s words like I did.

The poem is below, followed by my reading.

💜Miranda📚

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The Witch

I have walked a great while over the snow,
And I am not tall nor strong.
My clothes are wet, and my teeth are set,
And the way was hard and long.
I have wandered over the fruitful earth,
But I never came here before.
Oh, lift me over the threshold, and let me in at the door!

The cutting wind is a cruel foe.
I dare not stand in the blast.
My hands are stone, and my voice a groan,
And the worst of death is past.
I am but a little maiden still,
My little white feet are sore.
Oh, lift me over the threshold, and let me in at the door!

Her voice was the voice that women have,
Who plead for their heart's desire.
She came—she came—and the quivering flame
Sunk and died in the fire.
It never was lit again on my hearth
Since I hurried across the floor,
To lift her over the threshold, and let her in at the door.

My Reading