🖤 “She Spoke in Smoke and Syllables of Ash” 🖤
A dark spellbound poem for The Raven’s Velvet Ink
They called her mad
When she stopped speaking
In words.
But grief had no grammar.
And rage
No punctuation.
She exhaled the shadows
of every apology she was forced to swallow,
let them unravel in black curlicues,
spelling truths the world feared to read.
This is how a witch prays
not on her knees,
But burning from the inside out.
Not with scripture,
But with soot.
Each breath
A confession.
Each plume
a poem.
She had no gods left to kneel to,
Only the smoke she conjured
from the bones of her past lovers,
The ones who loved her quietly
and left her screaming.
She did not scream.
She inhaled in silence.
And exhaled spells.
The air thickened with her name,
spoken backward,
spoken raw.
This is the resurrection of a woman
Who was taught to suffocate
and instead
learned to ignite.
So if you see her
head thrown back,
mouth full of night
Do not ask her to calm down.
She is not possessed.
She is finally free.
© Alessandra Graziella Di’Stefano
Owner of The Raven’s Velvet Ink
All rights reserved 2025.
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@alessandragrazielladistefano
📸 Image credit: Melissa Smith Photography (posted for poetic inspiration purposes only)
The poem "She Spoke in Smoke and Syllables of Ash" masterfully captures the intense emotions of grief and rage by using evocative imagery of smoke, soot, and silence. This style aligns with a growing literary trend that uses dark, mystical symbolism to explore complex inner experiences and feminine empowerment. Drawing parallels with traditional witchcraft motifs, the poem presents the act of "praying" as an internal burning rather than external supplication, emphasizing self-reclamation and spiritual autonomy. The metaphor of exhaling shadows and crafting spells from the pain of past relationships highlights how trauma can be transformed into creative power and personal freedom. From a broader perspective, this poem resonates with themes of mental health, emotional resilience, and the search for identity amid societal misunderstanding. The use of punctuation and grammar as symbols of repression speaks to the struggle many face when expressing grief and rage in traditional forms. The poem’s structure—with its fragmented lines and deliberate breaks—echoes the fragmented nature of grief and the nonlinear path to healing. This fragmentation also reflects the interruption of conventional communication, reinforcing the notion that some truths are intentionally obscured yet powerfully present beneath the surface. For readers interested in poetry that interweaves emotional depth with mystical elements, this work embodies a potent example of how poetic form and content can unite to convey complex psychological states. It invites readers to reconsider notions of madness, silence, and freedom, revealing the beauty found in darkness and the strength in reclaiming one's voice through unconventional expression.