Green Man Standing
Joseph V. Danoski
Have you seen the Green Man standing
in the trees?
Whistling with the bluebirds, humming
with the bees.
Did you see the May Queen drinking from
her gourd?
Offering him the sweet green liquor
that is poured.
Maybe he’s a scarecrow, all his
straw still green;
Waiting for the harvest, and for Halloween.
Do you feel the summer falling day by
day?
Colors of the flowers slowly growing
gray.
Some say he’s a savior on his
cross forlorn;
Where the corn and barley die to be
reborn.
Can you feel the autumn frost upon the
lawn?
And the call to Nature’s Altar
of the Dawn.
Behold the first snowfall on the frozen
field;
The winter crows picking last of summer’s
yield.
At morning communion after midnight
mass;
Cathedral of a new day sunrise through
stain glass.
Have you seen the Green Man standing
in the trees?
Keeper of the secret circle no-one sees.
Spilling kind libations on bare standing
stones;
Caring for the barren Mother Earth’s
old bones.
