Spell of Rebirth
       

Two masses a week minimum
(one in school, one on Sundays)

until, child of lawyers,
I argued my way out

using logic, the magic
of laying out one's case

Later, as in
a fairytale bargain

I was allowed to roam
only inside reason's rule.

Then I knew I could get it back.

Not the return the elders imagined—

doesn't take me to church or castle
or Vale of Enna

but drops me far afield—

      take five balls of yarn
      state an ingrained belief
      as you unwind
      make a web
      describe the entanglements
      cut what you need to
      elsewhere make knots & bows

I kept ritual and incense

      syncretic            heretic

      "How did you get born again?"

The ones who hunted witches

      taught me to believe in miracles

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Copyright © 2020 Becca Klaver All rights reserved
from Ready for the World
Black Lawrence Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission