12 or 27
ＡＢＳＴＲＡＣＴ ＰＲＯＭＰＴＳ ； 27 .
THE TREE SPEAKS ; what do you know that i don’t ? in ‘very dream , ‘very nightmare , i have bucked & shuddered from ‘neath you , my roots yearning to breathe free . how is it possible that you know more than i do ? with my wound a maw , chattering open , then shut . crooked , blunted teeth protruding from blackened - gum . GROAN : i was ‘live ! i was more living than you were ! i screamed lies in the dead of night , to keep her / ‘wake ! I MADE SURE SHE WOULD NOT / SHAKE THE MEMORY OF YOU , I , / WE . i am the great - beast , the old monster . . . i watch ‘ver these haints , shrouded in shadow , crowding close to her bed . I AM WHAT SHE HATES , WHAT SHE FEARS , TOO . ‘gain , i ask , a bestial - sound ———— what do you hold ‘bove me ?
from deep ‘thin the earth , a noise , like hissing whispers ; HOLLOWED . i am sunken - face , bloodied to the bone . HARROWED . i am fire - burnt , seared skin . HAUNTED . i am the grin - scarred , the death - beaten . I AM WITCH , I AM SINNER . . . I AM GOD . i am holy , / holy , / holy is the lord , god , almighty . eighteen years ———— & you all knew i would come back . evil - incarnate , sharp - eyed , devil - tongued ; I AM THE GIRLS PULLED FROM THE WOMB , I AM WHAT THIS TOWN CONSIDERS TERRIFYING . unrooted - creature , a haint yourself , cruel & mean - spirited : you are what i am , but wither wilt we go ? ( eighteen - years , we sat in wait . watching . ) back to whence we came , i reckon . a trade ; WHAT IS TAKEN , MUST BE GIVEN . we called , they listened . . . THE GATHERING .
clatter , clatter , clatter . what is it ? what do you want ? tattered - skin , feverish ; warning . ( hhhh . . . window . . . ) what ‘bout it ? something you want me to see ? wheezing , breath like a slaughterhouse . ( . . . tree . . . ) the tree ? hate to disappoint you , but i’ve seen that tree ———— stark in silhouette , ‘pon the hill’s crest : lifeforms . so many of them , moved to cruel intent ———— before . THE PACT / MUST BE HONORED . EIGHTEEN - YEARS , & SHE’S / SHOWING SIGNS . YEARS / SINCE SHE DIED . JUST A / GIRL . . . TIME HAS COME . TERMS OF THE PACT . WE / KILLED HER , KILLED THE WITCH . NOT HER , RAISED HER . I’M HER . . .
FATHER ———— pa . one of her earliest memories ; the taste of freshly - turned earth , & the bleating of goats . I , i thought i was family . i thought you . . . loved me . II , you were , & still are , far as i’m concerned . THEN , TELL ME WHY I CAN SEE YOUR FINGERS CLOSING THE GAP ‘ROUND MY THROAT ? SQUEEZING ‘TIL NO LIFE IS LEFT ? III , i do this to protect you ———— it’s a good thing you’ll be gone ‘fore you realize . . . WHAT YOU ARE .
WITCH , THE / WITCH . IT’S DECIDED . . . deepest parts of the wood , unfamiliar graves , the undesirable welcoming . don’t make this worse ———— don’t run . DON’T MAKE ME HUNT YOU DOWN . the witch . . . must die .