Written by Ann LeFlore for Bluebell Books Short Story Slam Week 11. Write a poem, a prose, or a short story inspired by the image provided.
Bubbling Potion of Love
Handfuls of dead dried leaves
Slim from the bottom of the sea
Rotten eggs from the duck tales grave
Spider webs from the widows trap
Add some moldy bread from the dead mans hand
Mucky mud from the swamp monsters land
Stand back and drop them in
The pot begins to bubble with trouble
Watching the pot boil and bubble
Knowing that inside is the blood of trouble
Rising the dead from the graves
Turning the monsters into slaves
Round about the cauldron she turns
Stirring in the poisoned skin of toad
Drops the spike of a bone
Sharpened on an eagles throne
Crack the serpent’s eggs at last
The dancing dead wake from the past
Brings with them the tongue of dog
Lizard legs and fairy wing
She finds in her jar the eye of newt
The wings of bat mix with hemlock root
Drops in a long black whisker
From the wolf hound fur
She holds the wake of life in her spell
All she needs is the man in vain
Filled with desire and lust
Bring him here to me this night
Awaken from a dreamless sleep
Over top the darkness looms
Under the cloak of black
The face made chills run down my back
Standing over the top of me
She looked deep into my eye
The whites of the sockets is all I could see
As she hypnotized me
The next thing I remember I was there
Standing before her bubbling cauldron
Asking her why she brought me here
Knowing that I love some one so dear
She promised me a sure fire cure
With her potion she hands to me
One drop is all it takes
Guaranteed to make her love me
I run to meet her in the park
The night dusk has turned dark
She stands before my eyes
The potion starts to rise
Her eyes fill with lust for me
My hearts pounds with love and thrust
We embrace the long loving kiss
The bubble encases us within
I open my eyes to see
The horror that is before me
I look into her face and what did I see
The witch’s face looking back at me
Ann LeFlore
The Gateless Passage 
Comments on: "Bubbling Potion of Love" (60)
talking about waste from the bottom of the sea,
what a deep and thought provoking take.
Thank you Morning it is the time of the year for Halloween and with it the haunting and spells. I thought this would be a funny write for bubbles.
Nicely done my friend!
Thank you so much thought I would change the bubble just a little. I was almost going to write about the magic of bubbles then decided to change it around just a little
What a wonderful web of mystery and intrigue you wove with these words. I am, spellbound.
Thank you I think the Grandchildren are getting into the Halloween spirit and thinking of their costumes made me decide to turn my bubbles into a brew
By the pricking of my thumbs, some different bubbles this way comes…nicely different!!
Watch out you only need one drop but you might not like what you will see. Thanks for dropping by to read the blog
Wow! This is beautifully done…
Thank you I am glad that you liked this. I think Halloween is a great time of the year and it is so much fun to write different poems about Halloween
“the spike of a bone sharpened on an eagle’s throne” Wow, what a brew! 🙂
Yes Halloween can bring out the best in people and I love this time of the year so much and the idea of it coming so soon made me want to get into the spirit early
Wow, this is great and the end… I love it!
Thank you so much I am so happy that you loved it so much. I love writing stories about Halloween and spirits it seems so much fun
Lady Macbeth would have loved this – incidentally, so did I.
I think you mightbe right about Lady Macbeth loving this but I am happy that you do too.
Love the O’Henry ending!!!
Thank you Sherrie I am glad you like the ending of the poem and the bubble he was inside of when he found out it was the witch and not the woman he was in love with
Love heart pounding with thrust and whole spookiness.
Yes spook poems can be fun to write at time and get people into the spirit of this time of year
Creepy! I like it!
Thank you so much. I thought like you it was creepy but Halloween is right around the corner and it was a fun poem to get ready for this day
Now that’s a bubble of a different color! Very well done!
Thank you so much. I will come by your site and read your poem. I love reading all poems and love it when people leave me a link to their work. it makes it so much easier to find them thanks you so much
Oh foul enchanters hath cast thine vile spell upon swoon-laden maiden.. alas she remains unfulfilled.. indeed it is very Macbeth-esque in its rendition.. first it giveth then it taketh away..
Oh you are so correct on this. The witch has cast her vite spell upon this poor man making him think that the woman he loves witll love him back. Thanks for such a wonderful comment
I like the thought of the dark side associated with bubbles. Doesn’t harm to knock niceness on the head at times!
Thank you Helen I thought it would be something different to do with bubbles. I love the Halloween darkness at times and it is fun to do this one
very beautiful.
your words are well sought and lovely fine tuned.
🙂
Thank you so much. It was fun to write this and to think that this time of year is coming on us so quickly right now.
THis is good – especially the opening few verses where the images come thick and fast
Thank you so much. I thought about starting off differently but then changed my mind in the end and started off with mixing the potion right away. I thought that would give a good beginning to this.
A Macbeth cauldron turns the simplistic image of bubbles on its head and gives us a horror story to raise hairs on the back of the neck! Imaginative, clever poeming.
I am glad that you like this so much. You are not the only one that thinks of Macbeth when reading this poem. I thought it would be fun to write this for Halloween and turn the world of bubble into a little different tale on this.
The image of the witches from MacBeth kept coming to my mind as I read the opening verses of this.
I like the variety of ingredients you added, and I think children might too!
I am wondering what happens after the last verse…
Well we might say after being encased in the bubble and kissing he sees the witches face and now it is too late he is trapped inside the bubble with her.
You could read this at a Halloween party while everyone is in costumes. It would be perfect. It has all the scary elements.
So good ..
Isadora
Thank you so much Isadora I might just do this one. But on the islands of Tahiti they do not have Halloween parties but if I am still in America for a visit and work I might just do this one. I think the children here would like it. What would be perfect would be to have a bubbling cauldron with dry ice or something to stand in front of then the children would really like it
Wow, what a wonderful tale. A must read out loud. : )
Thank you I guess I do agree it would be a good poem to read out loud and see the looks on the children’s eyes on this one
cool ….thank you x
You are welcome Kez thanks for stopping by and reading
I love this line, Ann: “Turning the monsters into slaves”
Thanks Shawna and glad to see you back here again reading. Hope all is well and happy that you liked this so well.
The imagery in this piece is spectacular. It’s very visual and flows in an hypnotic way. Concrete images like this, “Handfuls of dead dried leaves” and this, “Add some moldy bread from the dead mans hand” and this,” The whites of the sockets is all I could see” make for very good poetry, I think. I like this a lot!
Namaste……………….cj
Thank you so much Namaste I am so glad that you stopped by to read this and left such a wonderful comment for me on this one. It is good to see you and I did enjoy your blog so much
Oooooh deliciously scary … deep , dark and brooding *shudders*
Yah Halloween is right around the corner and this one will go good for the spooky tales that are woven on Halloween night
Wow! Beautifully written! 🙂
I am glad that you liked this Elyas. I do enjoy reading your blog also and you have some excellent poems on it. Thanks for dropping by
This is very good I like this a lot 🙂 Beautiful write and scary too, I love it
Thank you so much I am so happy that you dropped by to read this and thought it was so scary. I love halloween and it is so much fun to write about Halloween
Beyond great ! Wonderful imagery. Love it !
Thank you so much Mr Watson I am glad that you enjoyed this so much and such a lovely comment you have left for me
Beautifully done!
Thank you so much I am so glad that you liked this and dropped by to read this poem
at first, I was picturing a child running around looking for these “magical” things, then I realized it was a witch, wondered what it had to do with bubbles, and then, duh!!! bubble, bubble -> very ingenious
BTW, second to last stanza, think you meant “her” and no “he”
I decided to make a twist in the bubble picture and change it around just a little. Thought it would be fun
oooo nice, October is the perfect time for those sinister rhymes 🙂
You are so right. I just finished to write another one tonight for dVerse hope that you drop by and read this one too. I love Halloween and creating poem for this day it is so much fun