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Trial of Bridget Bishop

Salem Village, Massachusetts
May 11, 1692

Of evil works in league with the devil, I am accused.
Spit upon, bolts tethered in chains, I have been abused.
People mardle I cast spells of palsie to make them twitch.
Blinded by fear, they labeled me a sorceress, a witch.

Superstition is to blame for blinding their eyes.
I claim innocence when affronted by boisterous cries.
"Burn the witch!" they shout in frenzied outrage.
Until tomorrow's trial, I am to be kept inside a cage.

These Puritans are wrong to think they do God's will.
Christians should not have such an urgency to kill.
There is no talk of banishment. That would be a blessing,
but the crimes they say I committed, I am not confessing.

Other women in the village are facing this tragic fate.
Pity that our lives will be in the hands of the magistrate.
Sorrow fills me knowing I will meet death on the gallows
and tossed in a grave, not worthy of ground that is hallow.

I am already convicted in the minds of those who leer.
My pleas of having done nothing wrong, they do not hear.
All of a dudder, I hear them say, "She is a witch possessed!"
"Forsooth," I will cry in court, "to witchery I have not confessed!"

Somewhere from outside, I faintly hear a church bell clanging.
Then, a hoard of voices screaming, "It is time for hanging!"
I write these words before the mob comes to take me away.
God, please keep me in your heart. I will not live another day.


Bridget Bishop, 
Falsely accused of being a witch

Copyright © Lin Lane | Year Posted 2025

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Beryl Edmonds Date: 2/22/2025 1:43:00 AM Marvellous Lin, such a terrible thing to hang someone who’s completely innocent of wrongdoing. Congratulations on your win in the contest… Beryl Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/22/2025 10:37:00 AM Today, people still make up their minds before knowing factual truths, Beryl. Thank so very much.

Vanya Evangeline Date: 2/19/2025 7:14:00 PM "Christians should not have such an urgency to kill" indeed. I've always been loathe to read the atrocities people often do "in the name of God", but I hope hearing the voice of those who fell victim to those injustices is a key step to prevent more of these wickedness. Thanks for writing this, and congratulations on your win! Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/22/2025 10:36:00 AM Thank you, Vanya. More people should pay attention to those tragedies taking place and perhaps the outcome will be less wicked.

David Drowley Date: 2/19/2025 7:04:00 PM Congratulations on your win. Thank you for your passionate exposition. Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/22/2025 10:35:00 AM Thank you so very much for your thoughtful comments, David.

Crystol Woods Date: 2/19/2025 10:46:00 AM Thank you so much for sharing your poem with us for this contest! This is a great example of the content i was looking for for this contest. I'm partial to this theme of the Salem witches and the puritians. It's such a sad miscarriage of justice, something i am loathe to read about. You've done an excellent job getting your readers invested in her story. Congratulations on your first place win! Xoxo Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/19/2025 12:03:00 PM I'm really honored that you enjoyed the sorrowful tale this innocent woman and many like her who were slain because of superstitious gobbledygook to be on your winning list. Thank you very much for your thoughts and congratulations, Crystol.

Duke Beaufort Date: 2/14/2025 8:28:00 AM Hi Lin, it's unfortunately not that foreign from the hysteria we experience nowadays. A lot of hatred has found voice today, and you give Bridget a voice and sanity that exceeds that of her prosecutors and haters. My goodness how people are looking to blame others for their own condition. What a shame really. Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/14/2025 8:46:00 AM Ya know, Duke... the research I did about her brought me into the tragedy that was her life. She became real to me. Thank you for reading and feeling the angst of her plight.

Daniel Henry Rodgers Date: 2/12/2025 5:19:00 AM Dear Lin, O' the craziness of people and history. Your lines are filled with such raw, haunting emotion. Yes, the injustice and fear you capture feel almost palpable, pulling me into a time so outstandingly unjust. I did love the quiet strength, even in the face of death, is truly striking. Such a powerful, sorrowful glimpse into history. Winter Blessings, My Dear Friend, Daniel Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/12/2025 6:09:00 AM Hi Daniel, and that crazy human flaw still exists... sometimes in greater depth and definitely in greater numbers. I'm delighted to read your take on my lines and thank you very much for offering them to me on this poem.

Gordon Mcconnell Date: 2/12/2025 3:28:00 AM Fine penning Lin, great rhyme and flow too. Being a Scot I've never heard of Bridget Bishop before but it is a interesting read. Gordon Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/12/2025 6:07:00 AM Hi, Gordon. I'd not heard of her either, nor the list of others accused of witchery in Salem. A little learning never hurts anyone. Thank you very much for your comments.

Tom Cunningham Date: 2/11/2025 12:59:00 PM Back then people were simple minded and believed all sorts of superstitions. How those poor women suffered at the hands of baying mobs doesn't bear thinking about. We had plenty of those witch trials in the UK. Tom Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/12/2025 6:03:00 AM No kidding, Tom. Today there are many simple minded, or perhaps greedy people who are unfortunately in positions of power to set fires that burn everyone. Thanks.

David Kavanagh Date: 2/11/2025 12:53:00 PM An extremely well written piece Lin, you capture the hopelessness and despair of Bridget’s plight, along with the insanity of the system she was judged by! If people think humanity’s past was any better, and they were the good old days, well here’s a sad indictment of our inhuman history,(We didn’t start the fire) you know the rest! A Fave from me for brutal honesty, cheers David Login to Reply Lin Lane Date: 2/12/2025 6:01:00 AM Merci for the comments, David. Some bad traits we faulty humans continue to make, only now there are more of us to commit such atrocities. Billy Joel keeps singing that line in my mind. We didn't start the fire but some fan the flames to make them higher... more's the pity of that. Makes me think of "Bonfire of the Vanities."