Prisoners were tried in batches
Philip Almond
in the oldest part of the castle
a large vault at ground level
then a long rough stairway
to the dungeon where in 1612 they
were chained for 3 months
waiting for trial
that’s where you feel the evil
of the place only part story
deep below the tourists
are never allowed to go there
but the story is told as near
to their cell as possible
as close to that dark hole
with its echoes of chains and voices
what did you expect brooms and black cats
they were chained there for three months
waiting for trial no one knows
if the women were kept in their own cell
the straw was changed once a week
the place reeked of urine and feces
vomit and death even before the trials
and you notice that everywhere
they are referred to as witches
never as the accused or men or women
Maureen Clark’s “This Insatiable August” was released by Signature Books and received Best Poetry Book of 2024 from AML. Her memoir “Breaking the Pattern: Confessions of a Former Mormon” is forthcoming by Hypatia Press. “A Country Without You” will be coming soon from BCC Press.
