The Green Man

 

 GREEN MAN IN THE GARDEN
By Charles Causley 

Green man in the garden
Staring from the tree,
Why do you look so long and hard
Through the pane at me?

Your eyes are dark as holly,
Of sycamore your horns,
Your bones are made of elder-branch,
Your teeth are made of thorns.

Your hat is made of ivy-leaf,
Of bark your dancing shoes,
And evergreen and green and green
Your jacket and shirt and trews.

“Leave your house and leave your land
And throw away the key,
And never look behind,” he creaked,
“And come and live with me.”

I bolted up the window,
I bolted up the door,
I drew the blind that I should find
The green man never more.

But when I softly turned the stair
As I went up to bed,
I saw the green man standing there.
“Sleep well, my friend,” he said. 

There's a Green Man in our village. He isn't always easy to spot. Sometimes he hides behind his long hair and whiskers, but once in a while he reappears clean-shaven and with a smart new hair cut. 

 

He sits at the bottom of the hill, a welcoming sight for anyone approaching the village. We're lucky to have him as Norwood Green is surrounded by woods and traditionally the Green Man is thought to be 'the keeper of the forest and the woods.'

 

Being evergreen, he's still got plenty of leaves during December when he grows a bushy, white beard and becomes Father Christmas. Then, after the long winter, he will appear with new, lush vegetation to herald the coming of Spring. 

 

As in the poem above, it seems that the Green Man keeps his beady eye on you. If you look closely up at the sycamore tree at the top of the hill in our village, opposite the old church, you might spot him again, looking down, keeping watch.  

  

Click here to find out more about the Green Man. 

Writing prompts:

• Read the poem again. What do you make of the Green Man? Friend of foe? Write about it.
• Is there something welcoming in the area where you live? Write about it in any way you like. 
• Write about a time when someone invited you (in reality or in your imagination) to "Leave your house ... come and live with me"? 

Please share your writing or leave a comment on the blog. Thanks.