the bad man in the woods

monster with no teeth
even my boys now know Herb Robert
at the waysides
oh look such illegal pickings but how foolish
we have seen tormentil and have picked
by the Iron Age bridge
in the woods
by the river out of Hell
that rushes sometimes black always heavy
germander speedwell and its demons
tiny fleurs have we harvested
for beauty alone, no
also for summer's novelty
and the crushing sense of cloud
down in the valley

we are not allowed here
not on this embankment
this land
where the germander speedwell
lifts the stones in geological time
and the tiny beetles
crawl in our moss-mouths I don't wish
to be violent
but say that again we are not allowed
with such peaceful intent
and such little boys

.