Alonso
In the Green Wood
Wes Magee
‘Here in my cottage
Deep in the green wood
I live on my own
And eat children pud.
No one would guess
That I’m up to no good
Here in my cottage
Deep in the green wood.
‘I stand at the door
And look pretty nice.
My lipstick is red,
My eyes green as ice,
And my cottage is made
Of sugar and spice
With caramel cats
And marzipan mice.
‘Kids lost in the wood
Stop here to eat
My windows and walls
They find such a treat.
They think that I’m ace
And terribly sweet
When I ask them inside
To rest their poor feet.
‘As soon as they’re trapped
I bolt the front door.
The shocked kids see bones
All over the floor.
They see I’m a witch
With warts on her jaw,
One broken tooth
And a wig made of straw
When I was small I found the story of Hansel and Gretel very scary. The Tales of Grimm were on television and I remember this story in particular – it was frightening, but the version I knew had a good ending. I like the way ‘In the Green Wood’ is narrated by the witch as usually the main characters’ point of views are given. I like the rhythm of the poem and the rhyme pattern, these combined with the words makes it an effective and entertaining poem. I particularly like the lines, “‘The kids try to hide/ In my smelly old room/ But I soon sniff them out/In the cobwebby gloom.” I can imagine the cobwebs and spiders and I can imagine being in this “smelly old room” with the witch sniffing me out!
Poetry is a floating spider web of magic that never ends…
‘The kids try to hide
In my smelly old room
But I soon sniff them out
In the cobwebby gloom.
I give them a whack
With a dirty great broom
And into my oven
They go to their doom.
‘I bake the lost kids
Till they tender and nice
Then serve them up hot
With lashings of rice.
I garnish with gnats
And finely ground lice
Here in my cottage
Of (hah!) sugar and spice.
‘Parents come searching
-just as they should,
But none of them guess
I’m up to no good
Or that their lost kids
Are yum scrummy pud
Here in my cottage
Deep in the green wood.'