We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

25.8.22

Tara, Troubled

~ about Willow ~



She has a ruthless streak, my girl.

I know her. I know she can go

to extremes. Shy when I met her, now

she is tasting her power, and she likes it.


But I have been subject to ruthless.

I know what power, gone to the extreme,

does to one on the other end … inflicts. 

I have been that victim. It makes me careful.


I have known loss of choice. She, 

in her way, is losing it too. Power

can take hold. I have navigated this path

before her. I wish only to guide.


Magic is responsibility. Use with care!

Will she turn back? Back from this

wrong way? Back to me? She thinks 

she can have both, wants it all. 


I love her passion, that now has her

grasp with both hands; but I don’t

love to see her heart distort, don’t love 

how far she is moving, away from me.


                  ~~~~~~~~~


Willow should be for wands, 

not swords. Willows are meant 

to be graceful, to grow into 

sheltering spaces. May it so be!



Rommy, in Friday Writings #41 at Poets and Storytellers United, invites us to write from the point of view of a television character from a show we like. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' is one of my all-time favourite shows, and I identify with my favourite character, Willow, who goes from being a nerd to a witch. Like Willow, I love the wise and gentle Tara, a more experienced witch (with a background of family abuse) who is here portrayed in her loving concern at the time when Willow becomes dangerously enamoured of magical power.



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24 comments:

  1. Rajani26 August 2022 at 14:20

    Magic is responsibility. Use with care! - that sounds wise! I've never seen that show but the concern you talk of is visible in the poem!

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  2. Gillena Cox26 August 2022 at 17:21

    Nicely done. The issue and the affirmation to summ up.
    Happy Friday.

    Muchđź’–love

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  3. colleen26 August 2022 at 22:49

    I hope Willow will mellow some. But look at her name. It has 'will' in it, a strong one I see.

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  4. Rommy26 August 2022 at 22:58

    Ahhhhh... this is one of my favorite TV shows too. Really well done piece from Tara's perspective. I could really hear her personality shine through.

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    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade27 August 2022 at 00:33

      Oh good! I was hoping someone would read this who knew the show and the characters too.

      Delete
  5. Debi Swim27 August 2022 at 01:59

    I haven't watched the show. Your second stanza explains Tara well, I think, and makes me understand her concern for Willow. Hope Willow follows Tara's lead.

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    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade27 August 2022 at 08:52

      I'm glad it's understandable even to those who haven't seen the show. Willow did come good eventually, but it took a while, and much drama.

      Delete
  6. Helen27 August 2022 at 09:07

    A fascinating poem, Rosemary ... I don't know the show, perhaps I should?

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    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade27 August 2022 at 11:54

      Depends what you like. I love fantasy, vampire stories, and the Young Adult genre (the characters start out in Season 1 as High School students). I also love the dialogue, which I think perfectly catches the flavour of the adolescents of that era, then matures as they do through College and/or jobs. The writing and acting hit just the right notes all the time. (I may identify in some ways with Willow, and she is truly my favourite character – but Buffy herself is my secret alter ego!)

      Delete
    2. Jim28 August 2022 at 14:17

      Good run up on Willow. I once watched the start of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' but I didn't finish it.
      Murder She Wrote is on the Hallmark Movie Channel late at night, bedtime and now also on Novation.
      ..

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    3. Rosemary Nissen-Wade28 August 2022 at 15:27

      We have different channels herein Australia, but I can find it easily enough.

      Delete
  7. dsnake128 August 2022 at 13:31

    I understand why you watched a show like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' I wonder did you watch 'Charmed' too. :)

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    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade28 August 2022 at 15:28

      But of course! And enjoyed it. However it wasn't a patch on Buffy.

      Delete
  8. Priscilla King28 August 2022 at 14:48

    I never watched the show, but your poem brings a character to life for me.

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  9. Sunra Rainz29 August 2022 at 06:54

    I love the character you chose, Rosemary, and the sensitive way described her changeable state. I especially like the stanza that begins "Magic is responsibility! Use with care!" A great write :-)

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  10. purplepeninportland.com30 August 2022 at 10:35

    I haven't seen this show for myself, but I can through your words.

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  11. Magaly Guerrero31 August 2022 at 22:37

    In my head, this was read to me by Tara. So on point. Willow did go a bit... extreme when she truly found her magic. Thank goodness she found her way back.

    I wonder how Willow would respond to the last stanza. Not well, probably--no one likes to be told what they should be or not be, not even if the spell is spoken with love.

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    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade1 September 2022 at 00:22

      True. Much as we all loved Tara, I think Willow probably found more room to be her whole self with Kennedy.

      Delete

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