/sword

in the way
by the well

it is said
she will rise from the blue
and it is true

...chilly mossy air
petticoats and nighties

little torch
and walloping gumboots

pig tails and
bandaids


the little girl went running

the rust of the bucket
  the shadows cast by the hidden moon
a bolt of lightning in a far away tree

       scare her a little


but she goes on


..at the well
she points and whispers
and there is the ghost-ish-thing
with its sad sad eyes

it tells the girl of the slashes
and deaths the swords
  and the wars
have caused in its time and
it tells the girl

to stop the wars from happening again and again

...the little girl often visits the ghost

   she is not frightened as the ghost has never sought to harm her

instead she listens, and learns



    **the ghost is her teacher