Swings and Firewood

by Beate Sigriddaughter / February 22nd, 2026

there were times
when swings were tied up
on Sundays
so children would be saved
from the sin of playing
on a holy day
and a witch was charged
for the wood it took
to burn her

now swings
are merely removed
because of liability
though a woman
witch or not
is still often asked
to pay for everything

Beate Sigriddaughter, www.sigriddaughter.net, lives in Silver City, New Mexico, where she was poet laureate from 2017 - 2019. Her poetry and prose are widely published in literary magazines, including online. Unsolicited Press published her poetry collection Emily in 2020. She posts other women's work on her blog Writing In A Woman's Voice. Read other articles by Beate, or visit Beate's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, February 22nd, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.