Ebony Cauldron

Ebony Cauldron

written by: Christina Ciufo

@ChristinaCiufo

On All Hallow’s Eve,
murder of crows caw
while disembodied voices,
staid and nebulous,
in a chorus, serenade their dolorous song,
and a black cat’s yowling,
vexatious and unsettling,
echoes across the cemetery,
into the woods, weaves
through the red oaks’
gaunt, crocked arms,
through the bonfire’s
withered charcoal-brown stones,
and around the cauldron’s rim.

Golden-auburn flames
caress the cauldron –
conjuring depravity,
impious, and thaumaturgy
from their slumber.

Aroma of foxglove, sage,
garlic, mugwort, red oak leaves,
milk thistles, and yarrow permeates
and like a serpent, charcoal smoke
slithers around the cauldron’s rim,
through the flame’s scarlet-golden fingers,
and red oak trees’ fingers,
reaching for the Blood Moon’s ensorcellment.

Disembodied voices recite an incantation –
phantoms’ shadows appear.
Red oaks and phantoms’ shadows,
stand and form a ritualistic circle
around the cauldron.

Its’ scarlet-ebony potion
boils and elucidates.
Flames swallow
the cauldron’s impiousness
Their complexion changes –
becoming raven-emerald,
igniting thaumaturgy, depravity,
irreligious, wretchedness, and unsettledness
underneath the Blood Moon on All Hallow’s Eve.

• About
• Latest Posts

Christina Ciufo

Christina Ciufo is a passionate writer in poetry, short stories, flash fictions, fables, and completing her first novel. At a very young age, she always had a passion for writing stories and poems, specifically in fairytales, folklore, supernatural, and horror. After graduating Sacred Heart University with a BA in English, she continued to expand her writing abilities at Manhattanville College’s MFA Creative Writing Program and by May 2017, graduated with an MFA degree in Creative Writing. She completed Sacred Heart University's Education Program in December 2018 with a MAT in Teaching in both elementary and secondary. She has numerously appeared in literary magazines including Spillwords, Ovunque Siamo, Nymphs, Truly Review, Mookychick, Moonchild Magazine, Crêpe & Penn, Cauldron Anthology, dream walking, Selcouth Station Magazine,The Wild Literary Magazine, Speculate This Magazine, Poetically Magazine, Analogies & Allegories Literary Magazine, The Clay Literary Magazine, Re-Side, Dwelling Literary Magazine, and Coven Magazine.

Latest posts by Christina Ciufo (see all)

• His Christmas Tale - December 26, 2023
• Mistletoe Bride - December 1, 2023
• Washington Irving’s Ghost - October 26, 2023