Which is Witch?

As a young girl

I was taunted by bullies

They called me

“The Redheaded Witch”.

 

I was afraid of them

Until one day

I cast an evil spell on them

And they never frightened me again!

 

Still I was bothered by the ugly image of a witch.

The Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz”,

Only slightly softened by Glinda the beautiful,

Made me shudder every Thanksgiving when I watched her on TV.

 

Kids never dressed up for Halloween as a friendly witch.

Tall, pointy, black hats and black capes the standard costume wear

Heckling sounds, greened faces and hooked noses.

Ugly wax teeth and broomsticks swarm the neighborhoods.

 

Which Witch changed all that?

Samantha, love of Darrin…

and my lovestruck brother

Beautiful nose twitcher of “Bewitched!”

 

Kitchen witches were a fad years later

Giving magical powers to every home’s cook.

Then Elphaba’s story was published in “wicked”

Explaining how her green skin came to be.

 

Punk rockers made ugly the “in-look”

Green skin, purple hair, ringed noses

Which Witch is ever-changing

As we come under pop culture’s spell.