Photo of grave said to be Hawthorne's inspiration. (Dial_M/Flickr)‘Reflections on a Visit to Salem’ by Brian Yapko The Society February 15, 2022 Covid-19, Culture, Poetry 29 Comments . Reflections on a Visit to Salem I wander down a haunted, cobbled street And watch the sun rise red above the sea. The maple leaves have turned to red as well. October’s come and Salem is replete With beauty which belies a history Of those who hunted Heaven and found Hell. Enchanting Salem! See where Hawthorne lived! Here the Seven Gables; over there He conjured the adulteress Hester Prynne. Now mark the Court where sorcery was sieved From virtue, and where slander wrought despair By hypocrites stained red with perjured sin. I hurry past the kitsch of Halloween Toward the graveyard where the spirits rest Of long dead Puritans, some false, some true. I’ve come to find the graves of names I’ve seen: Proctor, Nurse and others—lives oppressed Then stolen back in 1692. The graves of the accusers aren’t there— Those who claimed they knew who cursed the Bible; Who loathed with jealous eyes the strong and rich And conjured heresies out of thin air. Disdaining truth, they ruined lives with libel And killed with claims based on the dread charge: Witch. The trials spurned the rules of evidence As witnesses feigned fainting or spun fictions. The magistrates brought cases built on grudges, Promoting outright lies and cruel pretense. Hysteria then led to false convictions Most wanted to believe. Even the judges. This hunger to accuse—there lies the danger! This need to damn what men don’t understand; To flaunt unbalanced views, to cancel trust; To take a friend and make of him a stranger. Such men build their morality on sand And abdicate their duty to be just. Within a year Two Hundred were accused, Some Twenty killed, more executions planned Before the judges questioned spectral guilt— Too late for those whose lives had been abused. I ponder where the hangman used to stand And fear the gallows soon will be rebuilt. A tourist at the House where witches flew Casts rage at me because we don’t agree. Some strangers in the crowd on Essex Street Display red masks and curse at me with Boo! They post their hate online for all to see And mock a past we once again repeat. . . Brian Yapko is a lawyer who also writes poetry. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 29 Responses Cheryl Corey February 15, 2022 Well done, Brian. As an interesting footnote, Connecticut’s witch trials predated Salem by about 30 years, lasting from 1647 to 1663. At least nine women were hanged. Today we have the high tech lynching that Clarence Thomas spoke of. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, Cheryl. That’s fascinating! Now I’m going to do some reading on Connecticut’s witch hunts. Boy are you right about the hi tech thought police! Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 15, 2022 One of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestors (spelled “Hathorne” in those days) was a judge in the Salem witch trials. From what Brian mentions in his last stanza, Massachusetts hasn’t changed much. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Joseph, as I was preparing this poem I read about John Hathorne who was apparently one of the earliest and most vocal of the witch trial judges. Nathaniel Hawthorne alluded to the trials in his House of the Seven Gables and there is some speculation that he changed the spelling of his last name to distance himself from his ignoble ancestor. Reply James A. Tweedie February 15, 2022 Brian, that fifth stanza is a knockout punch not just for back in the day but for all the prejudging and grudging and canceling and censoring we are suffering through today. It seems that everyone is accusing everyone else of being a witch these days. And as far as I can tell everyone both guilty and innocent—depending on who’s judging. Hopefully, as at Salem, sanity will eventually prevail. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, James. Yes indeed, I wrote this poem with cancel culture very much on my mind. I have deep concerns about accusations being made despite lack of evidence and people losing jobs and reputations based on unhinged biases. Our society is making some monumentally bad decisions based on what I see as the equivalent of “spectral evidence.” I too pray that sanity will eventually prevail. Reply Cynthia Erlandson February 15, 2022 Lovely rhyme scheme and artful phrasing, especially “Of those who hunted heaven and found hell”; “the court where sorcery was sieved / From virtue…”; “I ponder where the hangman used to stand / And fear the gallows soon will be rebuilt.” Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you so much, Cynthia! I appreciate your thoughtful comment. Reply Margaret Coats February 15, 2022 Brian, I particularly like your lawyer’s analysis–that the danger lies in the hunger to accuse. And going on from there, for the accuser to flaunt his own unbalanced views. That wording struck me hard, and I wondered whether you weren’t misusing the word “flaunt.” Persons with unbalanced views may desire to flaunt them, but ordinarily in a just society, they don’t flaunt. Everyone else discourages them from going public. But at the infamous Salem trials, and at present, there appears to be an unbridled need to flaunt unbalanced views. You and others might like an excellent sestina entitled “The Evil of Salem” by Yen Cress at poemhunter.com The search function at the website is inefficient, so I recommend getting there by putting author and title into whatever general search engine you use. Despite the quality of the poem, its rating is 0.5 out of 5 stars. That means many readers must have rated it zero (in the 15 years since it was posted). I wonder what they disliked most, the meter and form, or the ideas? Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, Margaret! I appreciate your thoughts and your referral to the “Evil of Salem” sestina. On my usage of the word “flaunt” — I used it very deliberately and after trying other options. I’m actually pleased that it troubled you. I want people to be troubled by the idea of grown men and women literally flaunting ideas like biological men pretending to be women so they can compete in women’s sports, or virtue-signalers wearing masks while driving in the car alone, or people claiming that the only way to fight racism is by being racist. There is so much nonsense out there that I don’t people really believe but that they seem to enjoy flaunting because they can get away with it. As you precisely point out, “there appears to be an unbridled need to flaunt unbalanced views.” I very much enjoyed reading Poet Cress’s version of the trials. I thought it was quite good poetically. My problem with her poem is that it is factually quite wrong — the events did not begin until February, 1692. Also, she seems to rely solely on Arthur Miller’s “Crucible” as the factual basis rather than the history itself (e.g., the slave Tituba was far from being the source of occult practices and the cause of the accusations), and then she simplifies it so that the prosecution is only against “wives and daughters” completely ignoring male victims like John Proctor and Giles Corey. She made it basically about grudges and oddness when, at least in my mind, I think there’s something deeper at play in human nature — like you noted, this “hunger to accuse” — which, in itself, comes from someplace even deeper still. When I talk about hunting heaven (a deliberately aggressive & destructive verb choice) and finding hell, I mean it. In fact, I am now much reminded of the Lord of the Flies — Beelzebub — whose goal is to sow division. Thank you again for reading and commenting. You always help me to understand my own work and to grow! Reply C.B. Anderson February 15, 2022 Have you actually been to Salem, Brian? I live about forty minutes from there, but I’ve been there only once or twice. And J.S.S. is correct: Massachusetts remains true to the worst parts of its history. My continuing commitment to living here has a lot to do with the fact that this is where my grandchildren live. I’m sure something similar is what keeps Salemi in NYC — and he’s not the kind of guy who will run from a fight. Anyway, I am always impressed by your facility in maintaining a consistent pace, tenor and technical mastery in a long-form poem. Where others bog down, you somehow seem to walk on water. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you for the very generous words, C.B.! That is high praise indeed and I am deeply appreciative. I think my lawyer background has made me particularly interested in presenting a narrative so perhaps there is a correlation. The only time I’ve visited Massachusetts was when I was a child and my parents took me on a tour of Boston, Plymouth and, of course, Salem. The trip made a strong impression on me without doubt. Salem has fascinated me ever since. I remember the House of the Seven Gables and other very quaint buildings but was too young to appreciate the history of the witch hunts. Although I’m far from being an East Coast liberal I would very much like to visit your fair state once again. I have a friend moving to Northampton so I might well be presented with the opportunity sooner rather than later. Reply James Sale February 16, 2022 A wonderful poem, technically and in terms of its relevance today – the unlearning of history and the repeat of all its dire mistakes. Well done, Brian, top-notch work. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 James, I’m thrilled by your comment! Thank you very much! And I’m a strong believer in making sure that history is neither forgotten nor revised. How else can we learn from our mistakes? Reply Jeff Eardley February 16, 2022 Brian, not only are you a fine poet, but your verse educates and informs so well. I will be reading more on the Salem Witch trials of which I know little. We had our own version over here in the Pendle witch trials of 1612 which resulted in 10 hangings. Your final 6 lines are cutting-edge. Thank you for a great read. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Jeff, thank you so much for your kind comment. Yes, the Salem Witch Trials are remembered in the U.S. as a particularly American phenomenon but it should be remembered that they had precedent in England and elsewhere throughout Europe. I’m intrigued by your reference to the Pendle witch trials. I shall have to read about them. Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 16, 2022 Regarding the words “accuse” and “accusation,” let’s not forget that Satan is known as “The Accuser.” Much of what is happening today is due to direct demonic influence. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 I agree with you fully. In fact, in my comment above to Margaret I consider the similarity between the witch hunts and the division sowed by the Lord of the Flies (both in an out of the eponymous novel) which is, of course, a moniker for Beelzebub — Satan. I have no doubt such influence is poisoning our world today. Reply Jack DesBois February 16, 2022 Wow! This is a fantastic poem. I live walking distance from Witch Hill in Topsfield, MA, the home of Salem Witch Trial victim Mary Estey. I’ve always avoided Salem in October like the plague – “kitch” is a restrained description of the festivities. It takes a visitor to appreciate our community’s history and its relevance to today. You only need to behold the masked faces thronging the supermarket (in February, not October) to understand that the historical parallels are, for the most part, lost on us locals. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, Jack! I would wager Salem right around Halloween must be absolutely insane! Yes, you have a lot of amazing history right in your neck of the woods. The ironies of mask overuse and virtue signaling are especially thick in the land where the witch trials took place. Your next poem? Reply sally cook February 16, 2022 Dear Brian — i have a very old family and s long-standing interest in genealogy. Salem has presented me with a long-standing enigma. Cooks were there during the witch trials. I have thoroughly searched the maps, lists of families and civil servants, (judges, etc.) and witches, and though I’ve found distant cousins on my mother’s side, never found one Cook who was involved in witchcraft or the ensuing trials. Yes. they lived there. But what were they doing? Neither legislating, condemning, could they perhaps have been out looking for eye of newt? WHAT WERE THEIY DOING? Brian, is there anything you can do to disabuse me of my familial ignorance? If so, many thanks. Reply Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Dear Sally, thank you for your comment. You present a tough question which I wish I could answer for you. You’ve ruled out legislating, condemning and, it sounds like, participation in the trials either as judges, magistrates, witnesses, victims or accused. Well — eye of newt aside — I can offer you a little statistical analysis which you should take with a huge grain of salt. The estimated population of Salem Town & Salem Village in 1692 was 2000. There were about 200 accused of whom 19 were executed for witchcraft and one (Giles Corey) who died under torture for refusing to enter a plea. So there was a roughly 10% chance of being accused and, given the numbers, I would think the number of witnesses would not exceed that, so let’s guess another 10% who were actively involved as victims, witnesses and court personnel. Even if we round that up, that’s only 25% of Salem being involved in the trials, so your ancestors could easily have been among the 75% (around 1500 people) who laid low and stayed out of harms way. In fact, the numbers suggest that this is probable. Is that something to be proud of? Perhaps, given that hard evidence in the accusations and trials meant very little. And how could one speak on behalf of the wrongly accused without being accused oneself? Courage might well have meant a death sentence. Now if we were to take that type of statistic analysis into modern times we might find more to be ashamed of. How many people who are appalled by unjust cancelings, and statues being toppled and reputations ruined will actually manifest courage and take action to protest? It seems to me that the vast majority of rational people unfortunately dither on social media without doing anything concrete to speak up let alone take meaningful action. If their (our!) energy could be harnessed into concrete action our present world would be quite different — for the better, I believe. Reply sally cook February 16, 2022 Dear Brian — Thanks for your exp0ert analysis — no doubt that is what happened. There is so much in what you say. No one can say for sure what one will do when confronted with danger. I found that out when I ran out in my bathrobe to answer a cry for help from an elderly ., neighbor. Fortunately neither of us knew an intruder was still in her house and we made it safely to mine! Saving her was a priority – nothing else mattered. . Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Sally, that took courage– you and your friend were in real danger! Thank God you both reached safety! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 20, 2022 Brian, “Reflections on a Visit to Salem” is a literary treasure trove of shining poetic gems. I love the way you drip the color red throughout – a backdrop of bloodlust that sets the evil scene. There are many lines to admire, but I particularly like: “I hurry past the kitsch of Halloween” – that cheap and garish faux witchery fading as the past reveals itself in all its horror. I also like: “This hunger to accuse—there lies the danger!” That line says everything about the times we are living in. In fact, stanza 6 is a triumph in highlighting plainly and clearly the exact problems repeating themselves today. The closing stanza brings an immediacy to the scene and showcases the wicked world we are dealing with on a daily basis. Having studied the Salem witch trials as a child, I could never understand the mindset of the accusers. I can now, and your admirably crafted poem makes it all the easier to spot just how easy it is for evil to creep in when justice is not the main aim. Brian, thank you very much for this superb poem. Very well done, indeed! Reply Brian Yapko February 20, 2022 Thank you, Susan, for this very kind comment. First, I realize it’s a little thing but I’m so glad that you picked up the references to bloody red! And, in fact, I brought in Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter” to add to a red party which culminates in the devil masks worn by tourists in the last stanza. But much more important are the points you bring up about the evil that creeps in when justice is no longer pursued. That is precisely what happened 330 years ago, it is precisely what’s happening now and you even bring it up in your Trudeau rondeau. Truth becomes irrelevant to ideology or self-interest. Both of us — unfortunately — can now understand the mindset of the accusers. I wish we weren’t faced with such depravity and corruption, but I’m grateful that we can recognize it and have the moral compass to be equally repulsed by it. Reply Tamara Beryl Latham March 7, 2022 Brian, your poem is phenomenal and I’ve added you to the list of great male poets. The crimson theme definitely intertwines Salem, MA and witchcraft. The reason I’ve read your poem several times is it reminds me of the poetry of one of my favorite poets Michael Pendragon. He used to be the Editor-in-chief of “Pendragon Publications,” including “Songs of Innocence” and “Penny Dreadful” and as a poet he wrote a poem I enjoyed immensely: “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” “https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-four-horsemen-2/ Then Michael met a witch, Therese, in Salem, MA and married her. Now they have a business, “The Oracle Chamber,” in Salem, MA and I don’t believe he writes poetry anymore. Are you also planning on becoming a witch? 🙂 Reply Brian Yapko March 9, 2022 Dear Tamara, thank you very much for your kind words! I’m honored to be added to that list and I will look up Mr. Pendragon’s poem. It sounds interesting, as does his life! As for myself, although I’m a fan of the Harry Potter books and have a fondness for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, I have no talent for cauldrons and spells and therefore no immediate plans to become a witch. Quite frankly, being a lawyer is scary enough. Reply Tamara Beryl Latham March 10, 2022 Brian says: “Quite frankly, being a lawyer is scary enough.” My reply: I know, my Dad was one (LOL) and that’s why I majored in chemistry instead. 🙂 Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Cheryl Corey February 15, 2022 Well done, Brian. As an interesting footnote, Connecticut’s witch trials predated Salem by about 30 years, lasting from 1647 to 1663. At least nine women were hanged. Today we have the high tech lynching that Clarence Thomas spoke of. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, Cheryl. That’s fascinating! Now I’m going to do some reading on Connecticut’s witch hunts. Boy are you right about the hi tech thought police! Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 15, 2022 One of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestors (spelled “Hathorne” in those days) was a judge in the Salem witch trials. From what Brian mentions in his last stanza, Massachusetts hasn’t changed much. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Joseph, as I was preparing this poem I read about John Hathorne who was apparently one of the earliest and most vocal of the witch trial judges. Nathaniel Hawthorne alluded to the trials in his House of the Seven Gables and there is some speculation that he changed the spelling of his last name to distance himself from his ignoble ancestor. Reply
James A. Tweedie February 15, 2022 Brian, that fifth stanza is a knockout punch not just for back in the day but for all the prejudging and grudging and canceling and censoring we are suffering through today. It seems that everyone is accusing everyone else of being a witch these days. And as far as I can tell everyone both guilty and innocent—depending on who’s judging. Hopefully, as at Salem, sanity will eventually prevail. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, James. Yes indeed, I wrote this poem with cancel culture very much on my mind. I have deep concerns about accusations being made despite lack of evidence and people losing jobs and reputations based on unhinged biases. Our society is making some monumentally bad decisions based on what I see as the equivalent of “spectral evidence.” I too pray that sanity will eventually prevail. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson February 15, 2022 Lovely rhyme scheme and artful phrasing, especially “Of those who hunted heaven and found hell”; “the court where sorcery was sieved / From virtue…”; “I ponder where the hangman used to stand / And fear the gallows soon will be rebuilt.” Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you so much, Cynthia! I appreciate your thoughtful comment. Reply
Margaret Coats February 15, 2022 Brian, I particularly like your lawyer’s analysis–that the danger lies in the hunger to accuse. And going on from there, for the accuser to flaunt his own unbalanced views. That wording struck me hard, and I wondered whether you weren’t misusing the word “flaunt.” Persons with unbalanced views may desire to flaunt them, but ordinarily in a just society, they don’t flaunt. Everyone else discourages them from going public. But at the infamous Salem trials, and at present, there appears to be an unbridled need to flaunt unbalanced views. You and others might like an excellent sestina entitled “The Evil of Salem” by Yen Cress at poemhunter.com The search function at the website is inefficient, so I recommend getting there by putting author and title into whatever general search engine you use. Despite the quality of the poem, its rating is 0.5 out of 5 stars. That means many readers must have rated it zero (in the 15 years since it was posted). I wonder what they disliked most, the meter and form, or the ideas? Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, Margaret! I appreciate your thoughts and your referral to the “Evil of Salem” sestina. On my usage of the word “flaunt” — I used it very deliberately and after trying other options. I’m actually pleased that it troubled you. I want people to be troubled by the idea of grown men and women literally flaunting ideas like biological men pretending to be women so they can compete in women’s sports, or virtue-signalers wearing masks while driving in the car alone, or people claiming that the only way to fight racism is by being racist. There is so much nonsense out there that I don’t people really believe but that they seem to enjoy flaunting because they can get away with it. As you precisely point out, “there appears to be an unbridled need to flaunt unbalanced views.” I very much enjoyed reading Poet Cress’s version of the trials. I thought it was quite good poetically. My problem with her poem is that it is factually quite wrong — the events did not begin until February, 1692. Also, she seems to rely solely on Arthur Miller’s “Crucible” as the factual basis rather than the history itself (e.g., the slave Tituba was far from being the source of occult practices and the cause of the accusations), and then she simplifies it so that the prosecution is only against “wives and daughters” completely ignoring male victims like John Proctor and Giles Corey. She made it basically about grudges and oddness when, at least in my mind, I think there’s something deeper at play in human nature — like you noted, this “hunger to accuse” — which, in itself, comes from someplace even deeper still. When I talk about hunting heaven (a deliberately aggressive & destructive verb choice) and finding hell, I mean it. In fact, I am now much reminded of the Lord of the Flies — Beelzebub — whose goal is to sow division. Thank you again for reading and commenting. You always help me to understand my own work and to grow! Reply
C.B. Anderson February 15, 2022 Have you actually been to Salem, Brian? I live about forty minutes from there, but I’ve been there only once or twice. And J.S.S. is correct: Massachusetts remains true to the worst parts of its history. My continuing commitment to living here has a lot to do with the fact that this is where my grandchildren live. I’m sure something similar is what keeps Salemi in NYC — and he’s not the kind of guy who will run from a fight. Anyway, I am always impressed by your facility in maintaining a consistent pace, tenor and technical mastery in a long-form poem. Where others bog down, you somehow seem to walk on water. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you for the very generous words, C.B.! That is high praise indeed and I am deeply appreciative. I think my lawyer background has made me particularly interested in presenting a narrative so perhaps there is a correlation. The only time I’ve visited Massachusetts was when I was a child and my parents took me on a tour of Boston, Plymouth and, of course, Salem. The trip made a strong impression on me without doubt. Salem has fascinated me ever since. I remember the House of the Seven Gables and other very quaint buildings but was too young to appreciate the history of the witch hunts. Although I’m far from being an East Coast liberal I would very much like to visit your fair state once again. I have a friend moving to Northampton so I might well be presented with the opportunity sooner rather than later. Reply
James Sale February 16, 2022 A wonderful poem, technically and in terms of its relevance today – the unlearning of history and the repeat of all its dire mistakes. Well done, Brian, top-notch work. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 James, I’m thrilled by your comment! Thank you very much! And I’m a strong believer in making sure that history is neither forgotten nor revised. How else can we learn from our mistakes? Reply
Jeff Eardley February 16, 2022 Brian, not only are you a fine poet, but your verse educates and informs so well. I will be reading more on the Salem Witch trials of which I know little. We had our own version over here in the Pendle witch trials of 1612 which resulted in 10 hangings. Your final 6 lines are cutting-edge. Thank you for a great read. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Jeff, thank you so much for your kind comment. Yes, the Salem Witch Trials are remembered in the U.S. as a particularly American phenomenon but it should be remembered that they had precedent in England and elsewhere throughout Europe. I’m intrigued by your reference to the Pendle witch trials. I shall have to read about them. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 16, 2022 Regarding the words “accuse” and “accusation,” let’s not forget that Satan is known as “The Accuser.” Much of what is happening today is due to direct demonic influence. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 I agree with you fully. In fact, in my comment above to Margaret I consider the similarity between the witch hunts and the division sowed by the Lord of the Flies (both in an out of the eponymous novel) which is, of course, a moniker for Beelzebub — Satan. I have no doubt such influence is poisoning our world today. Reply
Jack DesBois February 16, 2022 Wow! This is a fantastic poem. I live walking distance from Witch Hill in Topsfield, MA, the home of Salem Witch Trial victim Mary Estey. I’ve always avoided Salem in October like the plague – “kitch” is a restrained description of the festivities. It takes a visitor to appreciate our community’s history and its relevance to today. You only need to behold the masked faces thronging the supermarket (in February, not October) to understand that the historical parallels are, for the most part, lost on us locals. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Thank you very much, Jack! I would wager Salem right around Halloween must be absolutely insane! Yes, you have a lot of amazing history right in your neck of the woods. The ironies of mask overuse and virtue signaling are especially thick in the land where the witch trials took place. Your next poem? Reply
sally cook February 16, 2022 Dear Brian — i have a very old family and s long-standing interest in genealogy. Salem has presented me with a long-standing enigma. Cooks were there during the witch trials. I have thoroughly searched the maps, lists of families and civil servants, (judges, etc.) and witches, and though I’ve found distant cousins on my mother’s side, never found one Cook who was involved in witchcraft or the ensuing trials. Yes. they lived there. But what were they doing? Neither legislating, condemning, could they perhaps have been out looking for eye of newt? WHAT WERE THEIY DOING? Brian, is there anything you can do to disabuse me of my familial ignorance? If so, many thanks. Reply
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Dear Sally, thank you for your comment. You present a tough question which I wish I could answer for you. You’ve ruled out legislating, condemning and, it sounds like, participation in the trials either as judges, magistrates, witnesses, victims or accused. Well — eye of newt aside — I can offer you a little statistical analysis which you should take with a huge grain of salt. The estimated population of Salem Town & Salem Village in 1692 was 2000. There were about 200 accused of whom 19 were executed for witchcraft and one (Giles Corey) who died under torture for refusing to enter a plea. So there was a roughly 10% chance of being accused and, given the numbers, I would think the number of witnesses would not exceed that, so let’s guess another 10% who were actively involved as victims, witnesses and court personnel. Even if we round that up, that’s only 25% of Salem being involved in the trials, so your ancestors could easily have been among the 75% (around 1500 people) who laid low and stayed out of harms way. In fact, the numbers suggest that this is probable. Is that something to be proud of? Perhaps, given that hard evidence in the accusations and trials meant very little. And how could one speak on behalf of the wrongly accused without being accused oneself? Courage might well have meant a death sentence. Now if we were to take that type of statistic analysis into modern times we might find more to be ashamed of. How many people who are appalled by unjust cancelings, and statues being toppled and reputations ruined will actually manifest courage and take action to protest? It seems to me that the vast majority of rational people unfortunately dither on social media without doing anything concrete to speak up let alone take meaningful action. If their (our!) energy could be harnessed into concrete action our present world would be quite different — for the better, I believe. Reply
sally cook February 16, 2022 Dear Brian — Thanks for your exp0ert analysis — no doubt that is what happened. There is so much in what you say. No one can say for sure what one will do when confronted with danger. I found that out when I ran out in my bathrobe to answer a cry for help from an elderly ., neighbor. Fortunately neither of us knew an intruder was still in her house and we made it safely to mine! Saving her was a priority – nothing else mattered. .
Brian Yapko February 16, 2022 Sally, that took courage– you and your friend were in real danger! Thank God you both reached safety! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 20, 2022 Brian, “Reflections on a Visit to Salem” is a literary treasure trove of shining poetic gems. I love the way you drip the color red throughout – a backdrop of bloodlust that sets the evil scene. There are many lines to admire, but I particularly like: “I hurry past the kitsch of Halloween” – that cheap and garish faux witchery fading as the past reveals itself in all its horror. I also like: “This hunger to accuse—there lies the danger!” That line says everything about the times we are living in. In fact, stanza 6 is a triumph in highlighting plainly and clearly the exact problems repeating themselves today. The closing stanza brings an immediacy to the scene and showcases the wicked world we are dealing with on a daily basis. Having studied the Salem witch trials as a child, I could never understand the mindset of the accusers. I can now, and your admirably crafted poem makes it all the easier to spot just how easy it is for evil to creep in when justice is not the main aim. Brian, thank you very much for this superb poem. Very well done, indeed! Reply
Brian Yapko February 20, 2022 Thank you, Susan, for this very kind comment. First, I realize it’s a little thing but I’m so glad that you picked up the references to bloody red! And, in fact, I brought in Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter” to add to a red party which culminates in the devil masks worn by tourists in the last stanza. But much more important are the points you bring up about the evil that creeps in when justice is no longer pursued. That is precisely what happened 330 years ago, it is precisely what’s happening now and you even bring it up in your Trudeau rondeau. Truth becomes irrelevant to ideology or self-interest. Both of us — unfortunately — can now understand the mindset of the accusers. I wish we weren’t faced with such depravity and corruption, but I’m grateful that we can recognize it and have the moral compass to be equally repulsed by it. Reply
Tamara Beryl Latham March 7, 2022 Brian, your poem is phenomenal and I’ve added you to the list of great male poets. The crimson theme definitely intertwines Salem, MA and witchcraft. The reason I’ve read your poem several times is it reminds me of the poetry of one of my favorite poets Michael Pendragon. He used to be the Editor-in-chief of “Pendragon Publications,” including “Songs of Innocence” and “Penny Dreadful” and as a poet he wrote a poem I enjoyed immensely: “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” “https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-four-horsemen-2/ Then Michael met a witch, Therese, in Salem, MA and married her. Now they have a business, “The Oracle Chamber,” in Salem, MA and I don’t believe he writes poetry anymore. Are you also planning on becoming a witch? 🙂 Reply
Brian Yapko March 9, 2022 Dear Tamara, thank you very much for your kind words! I’m honored to be added to that list and I will look up Mr. Pendragon’s poem. It sounds interesting, as does his life! As for myself, although I’m a fan of the Harry Potter books and have a fondness for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, I have no talent for cauldrons and spells and therefore no immediate plans to become a witch. Quite frankly, being a lawyer is scary enough. Reply
Tamara Beryl Latham March 10, 2022 Brian says: “Quite frankly, being a lawyer is scary enough.” My reply: I know, my Dad was one (LOL) and that’s why I majored in chemistry instead. 🙂
