The Rooks above the Banks of Green Willow

So quiet, so peaceful, my life serene,
On Banks of Green Willow I sit so blessed;
I hear the stream gently trickle,
Idyllic is life, in peace I rest.

Under green willows, shady and cool,
I feel the breeze now tousle my hair;
I hear the rooks in trees above,
Idyllic is life - without a care.

The rooks above now screech and scream!
What of those who sleep on the street?
And those who queue at food banks to eat?
Idyllic their lives? The rooks entreat!

Idyllic and peaceful was my dream,
So why do rooks continue to scream?

28 April 2019



The music The Banks of Green Willow (from which this poem gets its title) was composed by George Butterworth in 1913.  Born in 1885 he was Killed during the Battle of the Somme aged only 31.  This is the third of the three poems inspired by Butterworth’s music.  Of the three it is perhaps the most political.