Beltane

Have you ever stood in the April wood

And called the new year in?

And while the phantoms of three thousand years fly

As the dead leaves spin?

There's a snap in the grass behind your feet

And a tap upon your shoulder

And the thin wind crawls along your neck

It's just the old God's getting older

And the kestrel drops like a fall of shot and

The red cloud hanging high a come, a Beltane

A come, a Beltane

Have you ever loved a lover

Of the old elastic truth?

And doted on the daughter

In the ministry of youth?

Thrust your head between the breasts

Of the fertile innocent

And taken up the cause of love

For the sake of argument

Or while the kisses drop like a fall of shot

From soft lips in the rain a come, a Beltane

A happy old new year to you and yours

The sun's up for one more day, to be sure

Play it out gladly, for your card's marked again

Have you walked around your parks and towns

So knife-edged orderly?

While the fires are burned on the hills upturned

In far-off wild country

And felt the chill on your window sill

As the green man comes around

With his walking cane of sweet hazel

Brings it crashing down

Sends your knuckles white as the thin stick bites

Well, it's just your groaning pains a come, a Beltane

A come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane

A come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane

A come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane

A come, a Beltane, a come, a Beltane