RECLAIMING The Crone
You think of me as old, living alone
in my cabin in the woods, a house perforated with cats,
my only companions,
a lure for your children.
All my youth wasted away as if
I was never young,
never had a childhood, never had a child.
No never. I lived far away from that life.
We were expected to procreate. I stayed barren.
Except for my cats, my little children now.
And your children will be my feast?
Obviously. For I must be angry, never having reproduced.
And I will eat them up because that is what the crone does.
For she is ugly and old and to be feared.
How dare you.
You know nothing of me, of what it means to be the crone.
You think you are safe and good,
with your children,
and your grandchildren,
and your family.
You believe I am ugly and to be feared
for I have no one, no one except my cats.
Where once I had parents, I now have pendants of ash.
Where once I had youth, I now have wisdom.
And patience.
And time.
You believe your life is better and just,
full of the crumbs trailed by the crowds of others.
You don’t understand how mine could be full too,
unless I am eating your children.
I am the crone—old, yes, but so much more.
Experienced, powerful, and unabashed.
Creative and regenerative, I stand between birth and death.
I thrive in the crumbling, the pause in your last stolen breath
Elizabeth Rosell lives in Northern Ontario, Canada, with her cat Belle. She has spent her life working in the non-profit field, inspired by her own mental health issues with borderline personality disorder. Rosell has been published in The Seat, Punk Monk, The Amphibian, Blank Spaces, and Yale’s The Perch among others. When not writing, she spends her spare time crafting and baking.
Currently Reading:
“I've been on a Mary Karr kick lately, recently finishing The Liar's Club, a memoir about her childhood, and The Art of Memoir, a very inspirational reading for my own memoir work. Changing pace a bit, I've started The New Voices of Science Fiction, edited by Hannua Rajaniemi and Jacob Weisman.” - Elizabeth Rosell
For More About the Author: www.elizabethrosell.com