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F is for Fetch....

I used this word during my first round of A-Z blog two years ago, so this is a bit of a cheat...but, I love the obscure meaning of the word so much that I feel it bears repeating.... not to mention, my post on Doppelgangers was a bit lacking, so I thought I could do another "doubles" post, giving this one some of the attention my "D" post lacked.

A Fetch is a disembodied spirit of a living person. It usually appears to neighbors or friends at the moment of, or right before the person passes away. The Fetch is thought to be the impression a person has of a loved one, right before their death--- when someone says, "it was the strangest thing, I hadn't thought about her in years, until last night and this morning I get word that she's passed" ---this anomaly, in the past, has been attributed to a Fetch.
The purpose of a Fetch has given rise to the more modern meaning of the word, fetch--- to retrieve or gather something--- as it was a Fetch's job to gather the living soul of their double... they came to 'fetch' the soul to the after-life. The actual etymology of the word is unknown--though, there is reference to a 'fetch-life' in a 1583 translation of the Aeneid, that is clearly referring to a psychopomp (from the Greek, psuchopompos, guide of souls), who "fetches" the souls of the dying. There has also been mention of "fetch-candles" or "fetch-lights"-- somewhat like the fairy lights or the Will O' the Wisp on moors that lead unsuspecting travelers astray. The "fetch-candles", though were seen at night and were meant to portend death. They were like corpse candles, believed to travel from the home to the grave of the person who beheld the light--- a sort of, follow the light from your earthly home to your everlasting home.... In other words, if you see a strange ghostly light at night, DON'T FOLLOW IT....

Most stories connected with a Fetch are ominous, especially if the individual comes across their own Fetch. Though, there is a bit of mythology that says if you stumble across your Fetch in the light of morning, it is supposed to mean you will have a long life--- it's only at night when your Fetch is present that your death is supposedly imminent. 




Follow Softly the Candles at Night

Like mirror-light,
in darkness walking,
the silent spectre
treads.

Speak naught to hear,
the meek and voiceless,
the ghastly herald of
death.

In gossamer sheathed,
with mist-footed steps, 
the shadow's path is 
laid.

You have but to follow,
the guide that you meet,
dismay not, your soul's path is 
paid.

                                                                                                            ---e.a.s. demers



Comments

  1. Sorry about the deleted comment. My previous comment was published twice for some reason so I deleted one of them and they both disappeared!

    I thought this was an interesting post and the poem was especially haunting.

    Happy A-Z!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's fine... I've had the double-comment thing happen to me before--- never understood it either :-)

      Thanks for dropping by and Good Luck with the challenge :-)

      Delete
    2. I could be something in the template. When I posted a comment, it showed up as a double-post--but when I refreshed, only one post was there.

      File under D: Doppelganger...

      Delete
    3. LOL... yep, definitely Doppelganer! :-)

      Delete
  2. I really like this and I learned something new! I always love to learn about the origin of things. Wow, your poem is so great Liz! You should publish them!!!! Looking forward to the rest of your post. Also, thanks for getting me in on the blogging from A to Z.

    P.S: Your poems are amazinggg! Publish them please! I'll buy the first copy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwww, thanks, Stephanie!!!

      I'd like to publish, but, I always lack the initiative to submit :-/

      And, I'm glad you decided to join the A-Z fun!!!

      Delete
    2. you just need the nagging voice in your ear saying submit sumbit sumbit guess i should turn up the volume :p

      Delete
    3. Yes... HIGHEST volume setting you got!!!

      Delete
  3. Love this one! And I wasn't familiar with the origins, or supernatural meaning, of Fetch.

    I love your poems, and in them there's always one line that stops me. In this one, it was your lead: "Like mirror-light, in darkness walking." The thought of a spectre made of mirror light gliding down a path to the grave...ghoulishly lyrical, that.

    And as long as we're on fetch--the new blog format is fetching indeed. I'm using the flip cards, but I played with all of them. Very cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL... thanks! Yeah, the different blog forms are pretty cool, just taking some getting used to :-)

      Delete
    2. i wonder how the phrase "that's so fetch" fits into it all? i can see why you'd be unsure of your new layout it's a little clinical and that makes you uneasy. but i think it's got a fresh openness about it.

      Delete
    3. I don't know about "That's so Fetch"... perhaps the chick in Mean Girls thought she could start something "cool"...

      You're right about it being clinical, but it's starting to grow on me... :-)

      Delete

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