BY TIMOTHY MATHER
I am the Hooded man, Herne the Hunter, keeper of the forest.
I am the red-breasted one who holds dominion over the green forest.
I am of the common folk and the land; I dispense justice on finery.
I live by my rules and the fine greenery of Nature.
I am protector of the small and beautiful creatures; the innocent are my own.
I defend the weak and poor, and punish the corrupt and deceitful.
I am a trickster, Puck of the wood.
I will lead you astray; can you stay on course?
I am surrounded by merry men, legendary heroes all.
I am consort to May and Deer Queen.
It is I who honours and is devoted to Dame Fortune.
It is I who punishes those full of hubris.
It is I who slay the Holly King in furs and skins
And returns the earth to its vibrant green beauty.
I am the Oak King, companion of Wren and sacred willow wood.
I am the betrayed one; through my blood the land is renewed.
I left a life of finery to follow an outlaw into the wood.
I am mammoth in size yet I am called little.
I am kind and gentle, yet my staff is lethal in battle.
I am stern and serious, yet I am one of the Merry Men.
I am the right-hand man of the Hood; my name is Little John.
We met while hiding from the Sheriff.
We are fast friends; I walk with a limp
I call Sherwood home; I am a kind Soul; I am Much.
I am keen with a dagger, good-natured, hot tempered.
I came to Sherwood after the Sheriff’s cutthroats killed my Dear Meg.
I took revenge; now I am a vigilante.
I will kill all who are capable of savagery against the downtrodden.
I am called Scarlett, for the blood I am willing to spill.
At first I was a captive, but the more I preached to the Merry Men,
The more I became one of them.
I am very fond of good food and drink, but giving to the poor is my goal.
I am Tuck of the wood.
I, like my namesake, am both heavenly queen
And of the world and wood.
I am Maid Marion, bringer of luck and fortune,
But what I give I can easily take away.
I am a goddess of justice; I am the ever revolving wheel of fate.
I am a lady, a priestess, a bearer of the blade,
And I will match you in all ways.
On Beltane night, come to the forest.
Lie with me in Robin’s bower
And consummate a Sherwood marriage.
Come, let us handfast and have a merrybegot
Under Friar Tuck’s watchful eye.
Come, Maiden Marion, let us celebrate eternal May within the wood.
I am time without time, place without place.
I am the mythical wood of Sherwood.
Within my branches time stands still, for I am every wood.