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.