avatarSusannah MacKinnie

Summary

The website content tells the story of Penelope, an ancient fortune teller living in New Orleans with her lover, Ronan, who reflects on the land's connection to powerful women throughout history and anticipates their resurgence.

Abstract

The narrative revolves around Penelope, a former fortune teller with an extended lifespan due to a curse and her own powers, which has allowed her to traverse centuries and the globe. In New Orleans, she contemplates the land's deep bond with women who were once revered and powerful, such as warriors, shamans, and priestesses. The land speaks to her, recounting tales of these women, and expresses a longing for their return, sensing a reawakening and a renewal of its connection with them. Penelope, recognized as a kindred spirit by the land, embodies hope for the future reemergence of these influential women.

Opinions

  • The author conveys a sense of reverence for the powerful roles women have held throughout history, such as warriors, shamans, and priestesses.
  • There is a belief that the land itself holds memories and emotions, particularly an affinity for women who have shaped its history.
  • The narrative suggests a cyclical view of history, with the potential for a future where women regain their former influential status.
  • The land is personified as yearning for the return of powerful women, indicating a critique of the current state of gender dynamics where the "heavy hands of men" have dominated.
  • Penelope's character is seen as a bridge between the past and the future, embodying the hope for a resurgence of women's power and societal roles.

The Fortune Teller

The Land Whispers My Name

And tells me stories of the women it loved

Image created by the author on Canva and Prisma with Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.

Mary Wollstonecraft

I hear them calling

Chanting, singing, and weeping

Sisters, my sisters

I walk alone in the night. The land talks to me, Telling its stories, Returning again and again to the women.

Warriors, shamans, priestesses, Worshipped and followed, Feared and hounded, The land’s heart belongs to them.

Longing for understanding, Recognizing my kindred soul, The land aches with memory and loss, Unreconciled to the heavy hands of men.

Hoping that I am a sign, A foretelling of the women’s return, I suddenly sense a reawakening, A connection to the land renewed.

I feel the joy underfoot, Weaving up through root and branch, Filling the streams and rivers, Proclaiming “they will come again.”

This is a former fortune teller, named Penelope at this point in the 21st century. A combination of a curse and her own powers has allowed her to live many centuries and travel all over the world. She and her young lover, Ronan, are living in New Orleans.

She has found many sisters in her long life.

Poetry
Fiction
Story Quilt
Susannah Stewart
The Fortune Teller
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