They told Ned not to look into
little Mary’s eyes

she’s got the witching eyes
they said

Ned scoffed at such
silly superstition about
an eight-year-old girl

to prove the foolhardy
believers wrong
Ned looked directly
into little Mary’s
witching eyes

that looked no different
than any other
little girl’s eyes

nothing happened

a week passed
Ned still unwitched
derided the believers

a week later,
Ned was dead

coincidence some said
proof believers exclaimed.

Bob Boyd