An Old Witch's Advice
She's really very fond of her dear nephew, bless him.
Always be creative.
Don't eat frogs, garden-gnomes, hogs.
Ignore judgy killjoys, love.
Murder no —
- Oh, Penelope, quiet! -
- Restart... -
Anyway, Barnaby:
Courage!
Don't ever fight ghosts/hags intoxicated.
Just keep learning.
Make noise!
Oblige porcupines.
(Quills, remember?)
Stop trouble, unless vital.
Write!!!
XX,
Yours,
Zelda
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Author's Note: This is the original version of the poem I wrote for the contest "Abecedarian." I reread the rules and had to revise it to fit the line and format requirements; you can read the abridged version "The Old Witch's Advice." But I liked this one, so I published it too! :)
About the Creator
Jessica Dowding
I have an overactive imagination and I really like petting dogs. I love using creative writing to dig into the small moments that make up humanity.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Comments (13)
you such an amazing writer
Love this poem and congrats on Top story!
Congratulations on Top Story 🥳📣🎉Well Deserve. Looks like you had fun creating this poem 🙂
Well that's me became a new subscriber. Well done on a fine Top Story...this was a whole lot of fun!
Astounding effort! Keep up the phenomenal work—congrats!
This is so, so cute! Fantastic premise and great execution.
How clever!
Why do I like this so much?
What a fun read! You effortlessly (and with pep and finesse) do something that is so tricky to pull off here. Your poem is one of my favorite entries for this challenge - love the personality of it that you just let shine through.
I absolutely love this. Fantastic work! 🥰🥰🥰
Very clever! Well done on your Top Story 😁
your poem teleported me into the old cottage, where the witch, stirring the pot with one hand, pointed at me with the other. "Listen, Barnaby," She said. "You're young"
That was a very clever poem.