Tunriða [To Charm A Hedge-Rider]

~ a bottom-heavy ode to misfortune ~

by Paul Tristram / March 6th, 2022

I knew full-well the Dangers
… yet, that just increased
the [Pulsating] Temptation.
I Seduced with poetic knives
slashing dizzying words
around her [Captivated] face
… like a murmuration
of roosting starlings settling.
I held-back no Charm…
the Passion was Real
… yet, my Intentions Carnal,
I ‘Promised’ when I should
really have stated facts ‘True’.
Whilst I smiled smugly…
stretching in warm afterglow
… she spat part of me
out into a bedside phial.
And, later, fool that I am…
off I walked from woodland
… part of someone else’s
‘Conquest’… but a mouse
within the Claws of
… a new [Darker] Direction.

* Tunriða is Old Norse for ‘hedge-rider’ and refers to both witches and ghosts

Paul Tristram is a widely published Welsh writer who deals in the Lowlife, Outsider, and Outlaw genres.  He wrote his first poem as a teenager following his release from the (Infamous) Borstal ‘HMP Portland’, and he has been creating Literary Terrorism ever since. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, March 6th, 2022 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.