A poem
Wolf around my neck
snarling teeth, and red army gums
protecting in the night
when the bad witch comes
I call my wolf, mother
for, she was there
when babushka thread daisies
in my yellow hair
suckled at the teat
when the larder was stark
holding her fur tight
in the dark, dark, dark
shes not a real mother
but, she was there
when babushka pushed up daisies
in the soil, bare
she is my second face
snapping at the crooked nose
as Baba Yaga crept
on boney legs from the shadows
she is my strength
and she was there
when I burnt down the hut
smelt Yaga, in the air
now, all the witches
and the chicken legs
run from my hunger
as the wolf eats their eggs.
© Darius the Mate
by Ivan Bilibin
Written for the The Sunday Muse.
With the picture provided by Shay, at its base, I tapped into the Slavic folklore tales of Baba Yaga, the infamous witch with the taste for children’s flesh, who is said to live in a hut on chicken legs.
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Love this dark, delightful, powerful poem! It is what life brings us that shows us our power.
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Thank you, Susie! 😍
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I absolutely love this Darius! The rhyme, the wonderful fairy tale feel! Simply amazing!! So glad you joined us at the Muse this week!!
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Thank you, Carrie.
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Chilling and very well-done, Darius! Sometimes I wonder why fairy tales so often have such horrific aspects to them…
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I find it fascinating just how dark old/original children’s stories are. I would think it was definitely to the aim of frightening them into good behaviour. Thank you for the comment, Lisa. 😊
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You’re right, they are shaping devices. You’re very welcome, Darius 🙂
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“she is my second face..” the voice here is genuine and vulnerable, and full of that desire to even the odds, protect oneself, live through the worst to have one’s revenge on the destroyers. I especially love the setting you’ve used. I have used that very pic myself (and many other) Bilbin illustrations, and no one painted the fairy tale world darker or more perfectly atmospheric. Baba Yaga on chicken legs, in a house that could stalk you (and I’m convinced,peck out your heart) is a thousand times scarier than a gingerbread house. Also love the babushkas. Made my morning.
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Thank you so much, Hedgewitch.
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Words, images … where your imagination and talent took you ~~~ awesome!
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Thank you, Helen.
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Love “red army gums” and “she is my second face.” Dead Babushka’s pushing up daisies. Well done.
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Thank you, Qbit.
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Love the poem and the images that follow! An interesting contrast of fairy tales in the forest.
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Thank you! 🙂
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I love Baba Yaga appearing in your poem, along with all the other cool images…….I lived for fourteen years with a wolf, so absolutely love this poem!
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Thank you, Sherry Marr 🙂
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I love it!!! Babushka grannie and Baba Yaga! It couldn’t be more perfect, Darius. 🙂
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❤️❤️
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These illustrations are TDF, as well. I love fairy tale books!
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I know, right!
I love Ivan Bilibin’s artwork, especially.
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