Poetry / Sadie Maskery

'Magic Is'

MAGIC IS 

Magic is whereabouts
or whyabouts switched -
wherenotabout, whynot -
a simpler version of reality.
Witches can idly turn a bubble
inside out without breaking its surface:
They grasp the universal law
that every atom is all places at once -
know the point of rightness
at which to pluck it,
when to bow to the cosmos,
when to fuck it.
Witches are born old, sisters of Lilith
not silly fooled Eve and her figleaf.
(Sleight of hand by a bored God,
with an apple to distract,
the first conjuring act.)
They made their own naughtiness,
could teach you the lore
but you will never have the flair
of an old-born, you will have the trick
but not the truth of it, the bubble
will turn inside out but the world
will too and you will still be on
the outside looking in, at
an apple core and a book
calling magic a sin.







Sadie Maskery lives in Scotland by the sea with her family.  Her writing will be found in various publications both online and in print, and she can be found on Twitter as @saccharinequeen