Poem #6: The Stranger

I really enjoy looking back on and sharing old poems and stories that I wrote when I was a kiddo. I'd love to travel back in time and tell myself that I appreciate that awkward and nerdy younger version of me…who apparently had a real flare for the dramatic. I encourage you to look back on your childhood self as well, and celebrate how cool/uncool, creative, and fun you were. Here's a darkly romantic poem for a cloudy Valentine's Day mood, courtesy of 13-year-old me:

As only a stranger’s could have been,
His manner was peculiar to me.
I passed him on the street many nights,
Into his eyes I could not see.

His steps were long and without direction,
But followed a rhythm of some intention.
His breath lingered on the cold night air,
Like many banshees dancing about the Devil’s lair.

I passed him near the cemetery
Along its rusting gates,
Where perhaps a lonely vampire 

In anticipation waits.

There was a lustful grace about him
That as he passed caused me to shudder.
And I wondered if his heart
Was in possession of some other.

As we met more and more
In the same fashion each night,
For me to call him “stranger” 

No longer seemed quite right.

I wanted to speak to him one evening,
By the old graveyard.
But when I opened up my mouth,
I found speaking hard.

I longed to say something wise,
And delve into his mind.
But when I looked into his eyes,
He looked right down into mine.

And startled by their beauty 

And their iciness I stared,
Unnerved but somehow touched
By their cool, demanding glare.

His lips were pursed in thought,
And I felt the urge to flee.
But instead I smiled up at him, 

And he smiled down at me.

He was quite an elegant creature
Taken in by the night,
And I was still a little bit afraid

With a mixture of delight.

I managed a “Good evening,”
And watched his chest rise and fall.
To him I must have seemed so strange,
Compared to him so small.

“Good evening, lovely lady,”
He replied with a certain ease.
And with so much I still wished to say,
He vanished on the breeze.

"The Stranger," copyright 2021 Amelia Cotter

Introducing Amelia's DragonGoddess Boutique!

Together with my husband Jonathan, I have been working diligently on creating a mini side hustle that I had hoped to roll out this winter at in-person events, which have unfortunately (but understandably!) been postponed. Instead, we are excited to introduce the DragonGoddess Boutique as part of my online Store for now, where you can also purchase autographed postcards and signed copies of my books! Currently, we are offering three lovingly created and attractively packaged items, including handmade incense blends by my expert business partner and Magickal practitioner, Jonathan Montgomery Pollock! Jonathan sent out a survey this fall to gauge interest in the kinds of incense people like, and we chose the top two.

Please check out our inventory below. Pricing is straightforward, and shipping for any quantity of one item is $5.00, but for orders of separate items shipped to the same address, contact me at ameliamcotter@gmail.com for an invoice with discounted shipping. Thanks and Happy Hauntings!

Banishment Blend Incense Bundle … $5.00/five cones or $10.00/ten cones

Each attractively packaged kit comes with incense cones and one corresponding handwritten affirmations card.

About: This incense blend was handmade by Amelia's husband, Jonathan, and is well suited for any meditation or rituals involving healing, protection, courage, purification, and exorcism.

Ingredients: Australian Sandalwood, Japanese Makko, Indian White Dammar, Kenyan Black Myrrh, Peruvian Black Copal, Angelica Root, Clove Buds, Juniper Berries, Piñon Pine Resin, and locally sourced red wine.

Tarot Contemplation Blend Incense Bundle … $5.00/five cones or $10.00/ten cones

Each attractively packaged kit comes with incense cones and one corresponding handwritten affirmations card.

About: This incense blend was handmade by Amelia's husband, Jonathan, and is well suited for general meditation, relaxation, and ritual use. Some of the Magickal associations of these ingredients include healing, protection, peace, courage, prosperity, awareness, clairvoyance, luck, consecration, love, purification, and psychic visions.

Ingredients: Australian Sandalwood, Japanese Makko, European Black Storax Bark, Ogadin Myrrh Resin, Benzoin Siam, Clove Buds, Galangal Root (Lesser), Indian White Dammar, Mace, and a decoction of Vervain.

Dragon Meditation Bundle … $20.00 

Each attractively packaged kit comes with a dragon figurine (please specify color choice: blue/intuition, green/abundance, purple/joy, or red/action), a matching locally sourced chime candle with black candleholder, and a corresponding handwritten affirmations card. 

About: Inspired by Amelia's lifelong love of dragons, each fun and friendly dragon kit is assembled with care and ideal for contemplation, journeying, meditation, other Magickal workings, or just for fun!

Haiku #13: Milky Way

A new year, a new beginning, and a sentimental little meditation to welcome both:

Milky Way…
what it means
to mean the world

"Milky Way," copyright 2021 Amelia Cotter (first published in Full of Moonlight: Haiku Society of America 2016 Members' Anthology, 2016)