the crone plants monkshood / or aconite
-- Speaker (Lines 6-7)

Importance: This line lists two known names for a traditional plant: one folkloric, and one more pharmaceutical. This plant is also known by the traditional name wolfsbane. The dynamic between the old and new terminology, the evocative and the clinical, mimics the way these powers and this character are likewise timeless and eternal.

The sharp needles of the blackthorn / she uses to stab wax images
-- Speaker (Lines 13-14)

Importance: This image refers to the use of poppets in traditional magic (often misrepresented as “voodoo dolls”). The wax images are designed to act in sympathy with the intended victim. This ritual, using two tools or ingredients harvested from the natural world, illustrates the power the central character has absorbed through her relationship with this place.

voluptuous, / from coiling, woody stems.
-- Speaker (Lines 18-19)

Importance: At this point the fairy tale tone of the poem takes on a more natural, sensual tone. The word “voluptuous...