By Jeanne Barrett

I called myself a four letter word: Magi

I gave myself a new name; not my father’s, not my husband’s: Magi

Magi, the Biblical word for Wise Men

Did you know it means witch? Magic? That’s what I was

I was the spirited redhead in the too-tight capris, with the too loud laugh

I was a sorceress who lived as a wife and mother

Neither of which I desired to be

I yearned for a different life, a life of freedom and adventure

Marriage was the price I paid to escape my mother’s home

The man was handsome, his seed strong

We had an arrangement 

I birthed his children and kept the home fires burning

My heart hungered for more, but I remained

The arrangement took its toll on me

Those last years were hard, and wore me down

He became frail and the drink made him mean

I would be free when he passed

Only I didn’t know how to be

And it wasn’t long for me

Spirits visited me in the night,

My voice was quieted

I tried to scream, but no sound came out

My children, in the bodies of old people, surrounded me

My cats stood guard

Friday the 13^th