JACK IN THE GREEN


She sought a crown of mistletoe so she could be a queen
When amidst the snows of winter she met the man in green
He smiled, winked one bright eye and said, ‘You can call me Jack.’
The child of seven years just stood and gazed unfrightened back
Then he showed her wondrous things that no one else had seen

And the wood is old as England and surely older still
Sometimes it offers shelter and sometimes nought but ill
Deep within it Jack just smiles as he hears the hunt go by
And nods to all the younger gods as they blaze across the sky
Then he checks the silent traps and snares he set the night before
For although he is the Green Man he is red in tooth and claw

They  met again one springtime amongst bushes white with thorn
Bright green shoots of spring leaves as the year was newly born
He was strong and she was fair and he would not let her go
He laid her down in fresh young grass despite her whispered ‘No’
And she never told  a soul how her dress got soiled and torn
   
	 	And the wood is old as England…………..

One high summer she trod the path  through woods of ash and oak
There was Jack wearing the leaves as if they were a cloak
This time she did not hesitate nor wait for his advance
But she slipped beneath the green to join him in the dance
And there was nothing left to say so neither of them spoke

		And the wood is old as England…………..

She came one autumn with a boy who ran laughing ahead
To pick berries as the trees turned from green to gold and red
There, basking in the sun, was Jack who paid her little heed
So she quietly turned away without even taking leave
The child with juice stained lips and hands, followed where he led

And the wood is old as England……………………..

At thirty five they found her body lying in the snow
With ivy and red berried holly covered head to toe
The priest refused to read o’er her or  grant her hallowed ground
So they left her where she lay and raised over her a mound
And it soon became a spot where no one dared to go

In later years Jack passed it by and something made him stay
So he planted thorn and oak on it and then went on his way

      		And the wood is old as England………………….