Lilith stole the fire of hell to lure the bees
I smoulder when placed in front of windows.
Smoke rises from my collarbone in delicate curlicues. The whiskey in my hand simmers, and when I raise it to my lips, I almost hide my smile.
I smell like the air before a storm.
The old wives know us well. We poison the well, charm the cats, and lure the bees with our sunkissed skin. We sour the green apples, blunt the knives, and seduce the hungry.
My pupils widen at the taste of new men.
My fingers work slowly and my mouth works well. My head bends, trailing auburn snakes down a curved back, the scent of burnt oranges and cinnamon lingering in strands of fire. My lips are plump with claret blood and my nails sharp with need, and when my mouth opens, they think they’re ready.
They’re not.
Liliths catch fire in their hair and bees in their hands.
We scare the children, spoil the crops and lift faces to the moonlight.
And we always leave marks.
© bellmusker 2008
Lilith stole the fire of hell to lure the bees by bellmusker
While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats
Mark Twain
I don’t know how many girls you dated, man / But you ain’t lived ‘til you’ve had your tires rotated / By a redheaded woman / It takes a redheaded woman / To get a dirty job done Bruce Springsteen
During the Spanish Inquisition flame colored hair was evidence that its owner had stolen the fire of hell and had to be burned as a witch
Bees are thought to sting redheads more than others
Redhaired people never can make good butter. The butter always has a slight tang about it
British superstition
The red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest
Jonathan Swift in “Gulliver’s Travels”
If you pass a redhead in the street you are to spit and turn around
Corsican superstition
There was never a saint with red hair
Russian proverb
Only two things are necessary to keep a redhead happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is to let her have it
Unknown
Comments
brilliant! your words are so intense but yet still so dreamy and I love all these quotes…especially the last one =) (so very true)
Ain’t it the truth? My fiery mama taught me that one, hehe. Glad you enjoyed this!
– bellmusker
My pupils widen at the taste of new men HA! …Brilliant writing babe.
A perfectly constructed Bell…as always ;) xoxo
Ah babe, maybe I’m just hungry right now ;-) x x
– bellmusker
Mischief this is ;-)….You Melbourne women really know how to spill ink.
Why thank you ma’am! Maybe it’s all those cold winter nights, curled up on the couch with whiskey and time on our hands :-)
– bellmusker
Oh you are soooooo lucky to be a redhead – in this century of course.
Ah, I’m also a pagan bisexual tattooed ex-dominatrix with a serpent obsession and a sharp tongue….I would’ve been burned at the stake before I reached ten. As would many of our finest wenches!
– bellmusker
aroooooooo this makes me feel like howling
superb writing beautiful one xx
Go ahead sweetheart – the moon’s waiting for you to belt it out tonight x x x
– bellmusker
I’m breakin’ my teeth off
tryin’ to bite my lip
There’s all kinds of red-headed women
that I ain’t supposed to kiss
And it’s that color that never fails
to turn me blue
So I just swallow it and hold on to it
and use it to scare the hell out of you
The White Stripes…300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
Nite babe x
loved it…as always, a brilliant piece of writing
Thanks so much…this has been brewing for days. I hope I’ll finally get a good night’s sleep now that it’s out! Though I’ll probably dream of Jean Harlow and Rita Hayworth….hang on, that’s not such a bad thing, hehe.
– bellmusker
Thank goodness we live now and you can fully express your amazing self!
ArianeXX
well if that don’t whet your palette i don’t know what would. “the scent of burnt oranges and cinnamon lingering in strands of fire…”
Bell, you never fail to get my blood coursing.
lovely words to fire up the picture – well done!