Life, 1883-02-22 · page 10 of 16
Life — February 22, 1883 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# A Witch Song Analysis This page presents "A Witch Song" by Charles G. Leland—a literary poem rather than political satire. The poem features a witch character who uses her outsider status as a framing device to critique conventional morality. The witch's perspective allows commentary on hypocrisy: she observes that people can delegate their sins to others ("another as a chief, / Who will repent for me"), that deathbed repentance cancels lifelong wickedness, and that consequences are arbitrary and unpredictable. The repeated refrain about being a "wildered witch" emphasizes her position as society's fool-figure, speaking uncomfortable truths. The accompanying illustrations—dragonflies and a woman by the sea—visualize the poem's central metaphor: life as aimless, flickering motion without direction. Rather than targeting specific political figures, Leland uses the witch as a vehicle for social commentary on forgiveness, morality, and human inconsistency.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A WITCH SONG. BY CHARLES G. LELAND. A WILD witch sat upon a boat Beside the sounding sea ; Her feet upon her sleeping goat, ‘And all alone sang she : ‘Oh, Iam but a 'wildered witch, And little wisdom know ; As dragon-flies flit o’er aditch My fancies come and go. - LIFE: “As now and then the dragon-fly Rests on a waving weed, So now and then I simply t To think of things in deed. “ And therefore as a witch I'll rove, As wild as I am gay ; In love and wine with wine and love T'll roll my life away. ** For Lam but a 'wildered witch And little wisdom know ; As dragon-flies flit o’er the ditch, My thoughts a-wandering go. hho preaching heaven, ] —'tis true ; So when his sins shall be forgiven, T'll be forgiven too, “ When he who plans escapes a pain, The agent is forgot ; When rebel leaders are not slain, The soldiers are not shot, “So why should I repent in grief Or lose my jollity, While I've another as a chief, Who will repent for me. ‘* The waves run up upon the sand, Then rippling backward go; So life and lave in every land, Have endless ebb and flow, “Thad a love. While I was coy, Who could so loving be? But when I sought to kiss the boy He ran away from me. ‘\A saint may slave a life to waste Upon the heavenly track, But if he slips the angels haste In hosts to bring him back. ‘* Another's life may all be passed Injollityand’sin; Yet, if he but repent at last, His heaven as well he'll win. “He may have led full many a soul To fearful sin alone ; But if he turn this side the goal, He'll surely save his own, “ Life sparkles red, life sparkles brown, Just like the turning tide ; It’s down and up and up and down All over the world so wide. “Then hip, hurrah ! upon my broom, Away on the wind I'll fly Unto the revel and my groom— Away, my goat and I. ‘* For Iam but a ‘wildered witch, And little wisdom know ; As dragon flies flit o’er the ditch, My thoughts on the breezes go. ** As meteors flash across the sky, As wild deer rush to drink, As pigeons pause, then onward fly, So 'wildered witches think. And as we all go whirling fast Upon this worldly ball ; **T ween our wisdom at the last, Isthat of witches all.” — Oy ire comicbooks.com