An adult sibling reflects on how she used to torment her younger sister by telling her she had an "evil eye" that could wield curses.

The Legend of the Evil Eye

All siblings bicker, fight and fuss—
But none to quite the extent of us.
Dear Kimmy, you I loved to taunt,
With stories of an eye to haunt
Even the bravest of the brave!
(Unfortunately, the following is a TRUE story!!)

It started out as just a joke,
Then grew to a vehicle to provoke!
“You come too close – you whine or cry”,
“and I’ll unleash the EVIL EYE!”

My baby sister was naïve,
And thus not at all hard to deceive.
She feared the curse, as well she should.
I played it up, and played it good!

I tried to save it for special occasions,
But could stare her down without hesitation!
If she so much as bothered me,
The evil eye she’d surely see!

The evil eye consists of this—
A snarly glare, an evil hiss!
But the clincher to make this tasty trap,
Was to utter the words, “Evil eye, ZAP ZAP!”

She tried so hard to walk that line,
And mostly got along just fine.
But try to step inside my room?
Alas, she had just sealed her doom!

She’d run, she’d squeal, and try to hide—
The evil eye won’t be denied!
For even if she closed her eyes…
She still could hear my cackled cries – “ZAP ZAP!!”

Well, Mom caught on to this pretty quick.
And didn’t appreciate my shtick.
“Traci, quit that ‘evil eye’,”
“or I’ll give YOU a reason to cry!”

And so it went for several years,
With “Traci torments”, with “Kimmy tears”.

While tormented tried her best to forget,
Tormenter would smile and just reflect.

Years passed, adults now both are we—
“Evil eye” a joke has come to be.
Then a Taco Bell commercial at Halloween,
Once again gave me purpose to reign supreme!

If you purchased a special value meal,
They would include as an added deal--
A straw, to my chagrin and surprise
Adorned with a HUGE, bloodshot eye!

After all of these years, after all of her whining—
A perfect plan, of my own designing!
She’d never suspect – this plan is so sly…
A drinking straw sporting the Evil Eye!

You can guess what happened next, I’ll bet!
(After all, it’s been a long standing threat!)
I sent her the straw, poor Kim un-amused…
Of the lengths that I went to--or the props that I used!

The moral is simple, as most morals are.
Siblings will bicker, and siblings will spar.
Of one thing be certain—don’t ever deny..
The wondrous power of the Evil Eye!

Copyright 1994 Traci Hayner Vanover