of seeing a lady
draped in white silk
spinning thread
with a hen and chicks at her feet --
was the same
when we found Lisa
retired from Glamour
rising early to clean a farmhouse
and feed chickens.
She still put on make-up,
angora and sleek jeans
to mingle with her Brahma
maids.
Yet, there was something new,
original about her. She could read
the fortune of eggs in a nest
and called each of her birds
by a magic name.
Beyond the barn
there was an herb garden,
(at least she termed it so)
where her hands cultivated
an ancient plant. Its
fibers
once used to craft
rope
and sail. Scroll and lamp wick.
Its leaf and flower now
sacred items, royal strains.
At night, she dreams
and its sprit comes to her
speaking in a tribal language,
holding an amphora
of fragrant seeds. At first light
when the cockerel sings,
she awakens knowing
what to grow, how to cure, groomed
to become a sibyl.
______________________________________________
In 1789, artist,
Thomas Cheesman, painted Lady Emma Hamilton as a very elegant woman spinning
wool with chicken at her feet. She was draped in a lovely white scarf and gown performing a
very common, housewifely task, rather an unnatural mix for the time period. The
portrait or engraving was entitled "The Spinster" meaning a woman who
cards, weaves and spins rather than the common definition or derogatory term of
"old maid".
Brahma maids refers to
a category of American chickens who come in an assortment of colors and
patterns ranging from buff gold to red, speckled and spotted as well.
Sibyl is a term relating
to a wise woman, a woman who can foresee the future, read signs and reveal truths,
wisdom and trends in nature as well as the unseen world. She was often seer,
botanist, and in some cases, even a spinner or weaver of fate.
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