meets every Thursday night
across from the pizza joint
and the all-night gas station.
One-by-one, they enter
a run-down strip mall space
and suck in the flavored-smoke
slinking off the incense stick.
Behind the industrial-glass door,
the coven gathers in secret
to learn the old arts
and to buy new, mass-produced and
overpriced supplies.
Everything here seems desirable,
where twinkle lights temper
the glowing overhead fluorescents.
One-day-a-week, they practice
divination, recite incantations,
and trade home-brew recipes
before putting children to bed and watching a little TV.
Leaving together, thirteen
weekday witches living nowhere special
wave at the local folks filling up
while cackling off into the night.
Carey Millsap-Spears
Carey Millsap-Spears is a writer and teacher living in Hobart, Indiana. She’s lived most of her life in Northwest Indiana—also known as the Region. Her academic work has been published in Studies in Popular Culture and The Dark Arts Journal. Carey’s poetry has appeared in the GNU journal. She holds a MFA in creative writing, poetry and a Master of Arts in English and is Professor of Communications/Literature at Moraine Valley Community College.