Earth Witch

She hovered her hand

a breath’s distance

above bare, brown ground

her lips performing the sacred

enchantments,

and waited for water

to come.

When none pushed

through the solid earth

she dug a tiny knife from

a worn leather pouch

which hung, hidden mostly,

in the folds of her colored skirts

and scratched the dirt

scratched in little gentle lines

a reminder to the spirits

slumbering

beneath

that no rest is forever

and rivers never sleep.