A young woman about my age
Has been put on trial as a witch
For growing harmless herbs
On her windowsill.
I watch helplessly
As they bind her hands and feet
With thick coarse rope
And pull her long golden hair.
Someone spits on the ground
Just inches from her face
And curses at her like a demon.

A holy man is at the river's edge
Blessing the swirling water.
This is the first test.
If the blessed water receives her
And she sinks,
Then she was wrongly accused
And she goes to Heaven.
But if the water rejects her
And she floats,
Then she is the demon spawn
They say she is
And she will be tortured and burned.
I feel her terror as she is lifted.
Feel the air rushing by
As they throw her into the river.
Feel the churning water around me
As she disappears below the surface.
And I feel her overwhelming dismay
As she rises to the surface,
Coughing and struggling to breathe.
A few men wade through the water to her
And pull her back to shore.
The crowd clamors for her burning,
And she is taken away to be tortured.

I see her again a few days later
With her hair shorn and shaven.
She has been dressed in a black robe
And she looks as though
Her spirit has been broken.
My heart cries out for her,
But I cannot bring myself to defend her
For fear they would do the same to me.
They tie her to a post
Surrounded by wood.
Our eyes lock as holy men
Drive their torches into the wood.

I can feel the heat as the fire
Licks at the hem of her robe.
She is suddenly shrouded
By a shimmering light.
Just before she is consumed
By the flames.
The light remains until the fire dies down.
Nothing is left of her body.
It seems that though Holy Water rejected her
The Almighty accepted her in her last moments
And I feel her joy and peace.

If you are interested in learning more Catala has a great page on The Burning Times. Be careful though this is NOT for everyone.