Witch Hole Pond
Lee Evans
Mount Desert Island, Maine
There is a strong enchantment in a name,
However enigmatic. What may come
Of mysteries we meditate upon
Until a Spirit rises from the same:
A word incarnate in the mantric strain
We have repeated in our ignorance?
Consider what the parable presents
Wherein the empty house which demons claim
Has stood well-swept and ordered nonetheless:
One has no way of knowing if a good
Or evil spirit has revealed its worth—
For our too-passive hearts become possessed,
Despite our watchful minds. And so we should
See through, not with, our visions at their birth.