The Welcome Witch

The Welcome Witch

Showed up

And we welcomed her in

You welcome a Welcome Witch
And she will bring you

Good luck

One prince forgot

To welcome

A Welcome Witch

And he wound up

Covered in fur

With talking teapots

And a snout

The Welcome Witch

When she’s welcomed

Will teach you how to do

The Warlock Watusi

And cook you curried coconuts

Alongside canned custard apples

The Welcome Witch

Will stay up all night

In your living room

Listening to recordings

Of operas from Oman

And calypso from Cambodia

But she’ll put a spell on your ears

So you can’t hear the music

But instead

The sound of sea lions snoring

The soothing-est sound

That ever sauntered

Into the ears

The Welcome Witch

Will patch the holes

In your roof

And raise your chickens

To be responsible poultry

She’ll bake you biscuits

And braid your hair

And only sleep

When everyone else

Is awake

Preferring to slumber

In the slanted slot in the attic

Where your old Halloween costumes live

When you ask her

Why she arrived

She tells you that

Sometimes people

Make other people feel better

Just by being there

She says that being welcoming

Means welcoming lots of things

Into your home

Not just a person

But their stories

And songs

And a place for them to rest

Without asking them to give you

Any of the things

They know how to give

‘That’s grace,’ she says,

And she pulls the blanket

Up to your chin

As she tucks you in

For the night

‘A house that welcomes

Is a house of grace

And those who have grace

Sleep the soundest

At night

Knowing they’re well-taken care of

By those they’ve shown kindness to

Even witches who can custard apples

And listen to opera

In a language

They can’t understand’

Then she retires to the living room

To make sure the house

Goes undisturbed

For even the mightiest monsters

And monstrosities

Will not wrestle

With a Welcome Witch

You remind yourself

To thank her

For her presence

Tomorrow morning

As she’s making you

Her pineapple pancake platter

But first you fall asleep

To the snoring sea lions

And their satisfying

Symphony