The Yew Tree

(adapted from the Isobel Goudie song)

I sall gae intil a hare
Wi' sorrow and sych and mickle care
I sall gae in the Lady's name
Ay quhill I come home again.

Hare, hare, you creature of the moon
I sall run with the hares in the fields
Till I return to my hearth and home.

I sall gae intil a cat
Wi' sorrow and sych and a black hat
I sall gae in the Lady's name
Ay quhill I come home again.

Cat, cat, you creature of the moon
I sall hunt with the cats in the barn
Till I return to my hearth and home.

I sall gae intil a craw
Wi' sorrow and sych and a black thraw
I sall gae in the Lady's name
Ay quhill I come home again.

Crow, crow, you creature of the moon
I sall sit with the corbie on the bough
Till I return to my hearth and home.

I sall dance beneath the Moon
Ploughing a furrow for Mother Earth
I sall gae in the Lady's name
Ay quhill I come home again.

Witch, witch, you creature of the moon
I sall gae with the witches on the mountain
Till I return to my hearth and home.

I sall walk between the worlds
Where rivers run red in the eldritch light
I sall gae in the Lady's name
Ay quhill I come home again.

Blessed folk, you creatures of the moon
I sall send my fetch to walk the night
Till I return to my hearth and home.

© Yvonne Aburrow
July 1995