Vines of Smoke

Vines of smoke snake stealthily through the night
An old crone sits, stoking the fire
Standing bent, she chants beside a stream
Her clothes are layers of black attire

A cauldron sits upon the coals
Steam dances and churns, mingling with the breeze
Carrying curses on the wind
Smoke her messenger slinking covertly through the trees

The town had cast her out that day
With stones and sticks, they banished her
So on this eve she casts her spell
With the scent of candy, she propels her lure

One by one the children, like specters came
The town folk slept as she enticed each one
Into a cave, she seals each progeny
Every daughter child and first-born son

The town awakes to find them gone
They searched the woods and streams complete
Darkness falls but no child be found
Their generations now deplete

Legend says the town just moved away
And to this day a sweet cloying smell remains
The smoke still creeps like vines that choke
Never cleansed by pouring rains