CAILLEACH FEASA
After Mother died, I took my rightful place,
cailleach feasa, hag witch of the house.
Where once I’d kept my spells under wraps,
now I wave my wooden spoon, wandlike
and unashamed, my hair unpinned and still
hysterical red, lashing across my brow.
I have earned my cauldron, its daily brew
a strange new stew of pennyroyal, men’s
stiff gym socks, lock of fine white hair.
In a Sasquatch hoodie and pashmina, with
a suffer-no-shit, cocked-eyebrow scowl,
I stir the pot—mashup of Diving Into the
Wreck and Daddy for an incantation.
Out in the garage, you adapt, Beloved, learn
when it’s safe to come inside, and when,
if I’m working my magic, hurling curses,
feeding the fire, you’re wiser to stay where
you are, hammering something, anything.
This poem first appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, and can be found in the book Hysterian by Marcella Remund (Finishing Line Press) at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/hysterian-by-marcella-remund/
MARCELLA REMUND is originally from Omaha, NE, transplanted to South Dakota. Her work has appeared in The Briar Cliff Review, Jabberwock, Poetry Ireland Review, Pasque Petals, Banyan Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, Quartet, and other journals and anthologies. She is the author of two poetry books, The Sea is My Ugly Twin and The Book of Crooked Prayer, both from Finishing Line Press, and Hysterian and Stroke, Stroke, forthcoming from Finishing Line in 2025 and 2026. Find more information at www.marcellaremund.com.
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