Lilith stole the fire of hell to lure the bees
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
Lilith stole the fire of hell to lure the bees belongs to the following groups:
A New Aesthetic.... Divine and Otherwise , Blue Room, Got Melanocortin-1? , Lesbian and Bi-Women's Art, The Sensual Word and WMGI 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
Kaimarie
brilliant! your words are so intense but yet still so dreamy and I love all these quotes…especially the last one =) (so very true)
bellmusker replied
Ain’t it the truth? My fiery mama taught me that one, hehe. Glad you enjoyed this!
LittleHelen
My pupils widen at the taste of new men HA! ...Brilliant writing babe.
A perfectly constructed Bell…as always ;) xoxo
bellmusker replied
Ah babe, maybe I’m just hungry right now ;-) x x
flower68
Mischief this is ;-)....You Melbourne women really know how to spill ink.
bellmusker replied
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 :-)
Ariane
Oh you are soooooo lucky to be a redhead – in this century of course.
bellmusker replied
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!
PJ Ryan
aroooooooo this makes me feel like howling
superb writing beautiful one xx
bellmusker replied
Go ahead sweetheart – the moon’s waiting for you to belt it out tonight x x x
LittleHelen
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
TheWanderingBoo
loved it…as always, a brilliant piece of writing
bellmusker replied
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.
Ariane
Thank goodness we live now and you can fully express your amazing self!
ArianeXX
Robert Reeves
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.
anaisnais
lovely words to fire up the picture – well done!
divareVeur
Wow Hun…. This is absolutely great! it would go so well with my Lillith painting…. XXOO
jcmontgomery
Unfortunately age is causing a natural “highlighting” of my Auburn hair (my avatar was taken while in my blond phase). Although I tend to dye it back into submission as I love how it allows my blue gray eyes to stand out more. I also love how it makes me feel. There is some thing about being a redhead…albeit a dark one….and that is why I fave’d this. It is as if you captured my thoughts. Plus, someday, I will tire of the bottle and allow nature to take its course. And when it does, I will have this piece to remind me, when my memory begins to fade….
Thanks Bell. XOX
mstrace
I got all giddy this morning when I woke to see that Bell had written us a tasty treat. But this is MORE than just a tasty treat. It’s a mouthful of fireworks, a beautiful blistering madness. When I read it my tongue kept clacking on the roof of my mouth, punctuating every line, as if I was saying “ooooh yes” and “oooooh MY yes” over and over again. I’m a redhead myself so I loved this one in a visceral way.
I smoulder when placed in front of windows
I smell like air before a storm
And yes we do leave marks…don’t we Bell.
silverdollar
Geesus Bell-you’re a Redhead!!!!!!!!!
Just writing a “Dear John”, meet you in Rekyavik….......
bellmusker replied
Yep, I’m a strawberry blonde from way back, but have dyed it dark auburn for years. However, spring is whispering around the corner &
the redhead in me is stirring her limbs, calling for the fire to return. And when a redhead makes demands, you have to listen ;-) It’ll just make me easier to identify in Reykjavik when you look for me, hey?
Enivea
Now I understand my lifelong attraction to redheads, of whatever species!! And why I became one by default…..always felt my grandmother let me down by not giving me her auburn locks…
bellmusker replied
I used to feel my mama let me down by giving me her fiery locks – just try and count the number of insulting names levelled at redheads. it’s only as a rather fiery woman myself in my 30s that I’ve realised the delight of glowing in the sunlight. No turning back now!
Enivea
Ah yes, the best bit about gaining years is regaining our true selves.
roybarry
Sa Silverdollars’ UK representative, I have to tell you it will be me waiting to meet you off the plane. Luckily, we are both huge fans of Fiery Redheads, so I don’t think this should pose too many problems….........
bellmusker replied
But will you be holding trifle, Roy?!
Paul Louis Vil...
So glad I’m finally catching up with some reading!
I’ve read this a couple of times now… and it grows on me like grape vines.
I can only sit here with visions of how these words would transgress onto a stage.
... and they would hold the audience captive as these words melted inside their ears… perfect! :)
Lisa Jewell
Fucking brilliant writing Babe….
You most certainly leave your mark…..XOXO
bellmusker replied
Thank you, my lovely girl x
markgb
What’s all this talk about leaving mark’s??? ; )
Sexy as fucking hell and brilliant as always.
bellmusker replied
What’s all this talk about leaving marks??? ; )
Believe me Mark, it’d be worth it in the end ;-) Anything for a man with a drum kit!
Jessica Tremp
i am thoroughly enjoying being a redhead too x
bellmusker replied
And it suits you so much, Liebchen…have never seen you more radiant x x x
bellmusker
I’ve read this a couple of times now… and it grows on me like grape vines
Paul, what a gorgeous thing to say – thank you!
Mel Brackstone
NOW I know why I’ve stuck with gingers as mates all my life…..yowsers, what a magical read, Bell!
bellmusker replied
Aha, we’re pretty good value, Mel! And lord, can we cackle; loud enough to raise the roof.
warmsugarcube
i had never thought of lilith being a redhead, but of course she would be. it all makes sense now :)
bellmusker replied
Lilith, Eve, even Cleopatra, apparently. It all make sense now, hey? PS Love your new avatar!
Miri
go redheads!! damn i’m a brunette….oh well really we all want to be red inside!
gorgeous words, sumptious like red wine!
bellmusker replied
Red wine is indeed divine…but then again, I am partial to burgundy coloured treats. Can’t think why…....;-)
Naomi Downie
spirit lovers rise up and surrender your wandering hands and loving strokes till I am home again in your arms…(bit of improv poetry)
bellmusker replied
Bring on the improv poetry, Naomi! Beautiful words indeed.
Seanchai
You exposed the inner spitfire of each red-head; mulled it in honey, spices and heat then showed each imbiber the best way to enjoy the steam.
Awesome!
bellmusker replied
You exposed the inner spitfire of each red-head; mulled it in honey, spices and heat then showed each imbiber the best way to enjoy the steam
That is one of the best damn comments on my writing I’ve ever read! A treat in itself, Senchai…thank you so much.
warmsugarcube
why thank you, i thought the small one didn’t scale well but the other looks ok in my profile. you’ve cheered me up about it so thank you miss.. may i call you carrots? ;-p x
MissKristy
Smoke rises from my collarbone in delicate curlicues.—that’s my fav line, but the whole piece is exquisite.
Oh, you luscious luscious linguist.
bellmusker replied
How I love those sibilants….they bring out the sssssnake in me x x x
markgb
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
T SOUL
ahhh….its the red that found you :) tag surfing? :)
Love this!
Ash rebeltherace
fantastic!
do submit it to http://www.redbubble.com/groups/got-melanocortin-1
it will fit in perfectly!
x
bellmusker replied
Done! What a wonderful idea for a group…..funny, when I saw you’d left a message on this piece I smiled and couldn’t read it fast enough, hehe. Hoped you’d like it.
Now, for all those who’ve commented on this piece and avowed their love of redheads, go to this new group
and channel your adoration into some amazing art! X
Ash rebeltherace
I love it, glad you like the idea
and thanks for the promotion too = ]
stupidland
you sound like a vampire! very otherwordly but feet firmly planted on the ground under the cloud your head could be in! :)
bellmusker replied
you sound like a vampire!
Ha! No, just your normal ink-smeared fiery tressed witch, whispering to snakes and seducing cowboys…oh yeah, and smouldering when placed in front of windows, let’s not forget that bit :-)
stupidland
“just your nornal ink smeared fiery tressed witch”; you crazy medieval pagan linguist!
CloudChaser
....and we always leave marks….muhahahaha!!!! absolutely gorgeous (and so very true)
strangely, i am the only redhead in a family of varying shades of brown. must have been a viking back there somewhere…..!!! love the supertitions….xx
bellmusker replied
Ah, those damn Vikings!! Aren’t the superstitions priceless? There’s a new year’s one that states the first foot to enter your house on Jan 1st will bring you luck for the whole year; so under no circumstances are you to allow that to be a red-headed woman, or you’re fucked, basically.
Makes me want to find whoever wrote that and kick their door in, then dance the Nutbush down their hallway…in stilettos.
With a whirl at the end for good measure :-)
Holly Ringland
bell, how did i miss this? this ode that actually spat and sizzled and cackled as i read it out loud, the words finding their feet between the bones in my spine, making me shiver, making me curl my mouth into a smile, making me yearn for my roots to be red? dear god woman. you are so simply brilliant at what you do to words. i’m quite convinced that your cauldron bubbles with ink alone xxx
bellmusker replied
the words finding their feet between the bones in my spine
I swear girl, you write the most superb comments that just leave me speechless, with my pen poised and my mouth open.
And we keep connecting the dots between each other in a myriad of ways; you finding your own book of blood & snow, and now telling me of cauldrons. Around my right arm is a bright and spiky tattooed band of holly…..wrapped around a trio of cauldrons. x x x
CloudChaser
“dance the Nutbush down their hallway…in stilettos….. ” well, what I wouldn’t give for an eyeful of that!!! muhahahaha!!! you feisty little Irish, you…....
nadine henley
no wonder it’s taken me a while to get down to the bottom of the page – this raised the hairs on the back of my neck – powerful writing!
bellmusker replied
Hair raising writing – how exciting to hear that! You’ve just made me beam and beam :-)
charliethetramp
yeah storms demons tend to have that effect
with their erotic predatory presence.
a wonderfully evocative piece of writing
bellmusker replied
Thanks Charlie…..thought it was time to give us much maligned redheads some attention. Nothing like a touch of predatory eroticism first thing in the morning :-)
Doug Greenwald
Ooohhhhh. I can’t even think straight.
bellmusker replied
Excellent! Then my work here is done….. :-)
Louise. C. Thomas
Wow!! As one redhead to another, I LOVE THIS!!! ”...burnt oranges and cinnamon lingering in strands of fire” simply breathtaking, sensual, predatory and proud. X
bellmusker
Thanks, Loulou! And what a gorgeous fiery mane you have yourself, I must say :-) Predatory and proud.....what a striking combination of words you’ve chained together there, thank you so much.