Waiting for Perchta by Lissa Sloan

This is the end.

My broom has been into every corner

Between each crack and crevice

I have swept the old year clean away

I have spun the joys and tears 

Wound them, spooled them into balls of wool and thread and hope

Ready for the knitting and the weaving

She and her scissors will not catch me unprepared

Cinnamon, cloves

Nutmeg and allspice hang in the air

Mingling with the scent of sage and smoke 

But the ashes are cold in the hearth

A new log waits there

Expectant

While her goose foot crunches toward me through the snow

This is the beginning. 

Lissa Sloan is the author of Glass and Feathers, a transformational continuation of the traditional Cinderella tale. Her fairy tale poems and short stories have appeared in The Fairy Tale Magazine, Niteblade Magazine, Corvid Queen, Three Ravens Podcast, and anthologies from World Weaver Press. Visit Lissa online at lissasloan.com, or connect on Facebook, Instagram, @lissa_sloan, or Twitter, @LissaSloan.