Forgetting, by Twila Stith
A poem from the Appalachian Moon Witch Chronicles universe
Imagine centuries of love erased in an instant. Not faded, not forgotten gradually—just gone. Stolen by covenant magic that didn’t just take Twila’s memories of living and loving Martin when she traveled beyond the veil, but her very identity as a moon witch. Her birthright, her power, her entire existence with him—wiped clean.
Twila writes this poem on one of those sleepless nights, grappling with a loss so absolute it defies comprehension. She knows what was taken from her even if she can’t remember it. She knows there were sycamores and winters and a love that spanned centuries, but the actual living of it? Gone.
What makes this poem so devastating is that it’s written from the other side of that theft. She’s trying to hold onto whatever fragments remain, bargaining with the universe that maybe—even though an evil covenant stole centuries—the essential pulse of love might somehow survive total erasure. That his name might keep burning even when everything else has been taken.
It’s Twila at her most heartbroken, mourning a loss so complete she can barely articulate it, while still insisting that love might be the one thing magic can’t entirely destroy.
For those of you who know what it’s like to lose everything—here’s Twila writing in the dark.
Forgetting
I know I will lose it,
