Jack in the Green

Each May I take a leaf and keep it safe

Until we re-awake the Solstice fire

When, with the charcoal from the previous year,

We burn them all to fulfil our desire

That, at the season's turn, we celebrate

Life that continues despite the pit falls

And stumbling blocks that hinder and annoy,

Accepting them as part of Life in all

Its glory, and the underlying joy

Which cuts through all the frets along the way

Surges up again, to fill us now

As we green-up and willingly obey

          The call to witness in the castle ground

          That Jack is dead, and summer will abound.

Brian Hick May 2009

☺copyright Sally Hick May 2022