Carma Lynn Park- Brewer's Choice

Recipe for a Spell: To Heal a Migraine

a sheet of parchment paper

1 kilo clover honey

3 serpent eggs

a rusty nail from the shoe of a palomino mare

a bit of gold jewelry from your childhood, before the migraines came

a dozen ice cubes

an ice pick

a hand mirror with your face in it

a honey bee

On the parchment, write a poem that describes broken glass, how it fractures light, char the edges in the flame of a beeswax candle, and chop fine. Set aside.

Using a large bowl, crack the serpent eggs into the honey; stir; grate the rust from the nail into the mixture; add the gold; pour in the ice cubes that are now melted; press the ice pick to your cheek for a moment, then toss over your left shoulder; let it clatter to the floor; dip your mirror-face for 10 seconds and remove; fold in the chopped, charred poem while the bee circles overhead, singing a lament.

Dump the mess into the dog’s bowl. She will refuse to eat it. You must put it in the garbage.

By this time the migraine should be gone. If not, close the blinds and lie down.

At age 6, Carma Lynn Park wrote a poetic masterpiece entitled “Spring,” and after that she couldn’t be stopped; she has been reading and writing poems and short fiction for (mumble, mumble) years. Her book "Through the Bronze Mirror: Speculative Poems and Stories" will be published by Match Factory Editions in 2026. You may learn more about her at carmalynnpark.com. One thing not on the website--when she visited Australia she developed a liking for Carlton Draught beer.