(“The High Priestess” Tarot card, Granny Jones Australian Tarot Deck)
By Nisaba Merrieweather
The high Priestess stands twinkling in silence,
Two sleeping cats curled in a lemniscate
In an untroubled sky. Books of wisdom
Behind, a stove beside, cats all around.
Cards and crystal ball in hand, runes hanging
Her glasses low, her smile most tender.
Somewhere the Moon floats, somewhere three birds fly.
Is she not the Grandmother we all need?
Her tenderness is always infinite.
No slip of a girl can be High Priestess,
No girl unfelled by the passage of years.
There’s just something the decades do to you
As they stack up on your head, your back.
With age, wisdom. With age comes the secret knowledge.