the wrinkly witch 

down on the forest road 
there are so many people 
you'd think it was a holy day procession 
where are you going we all asked 

the fat man with the meat cleaver 
wriggled his lips 

we're going to the wrinkly witch he says 
because she's secretive and they all 
murmer agreement like excited ants 
eyeing up a steamy hunk of flesh 

oh yes it's definitely the wrinkly witch 
it's her turn today 

and they all keep shambling down the road 
like any marchers 
on any sunday afternoon 
like they aren't really together 
but just happened to be walking 
this same way 
this afternoon 
with meat cleavers 
and steak knives 

and they come to wrinkly witch's tree 
and bang on her glass door 

wrinkly witch let us in yells the mayor 
you can tell he's the mayor because 
he was pushed to the front 
like a cow by people 
who don't want to feel responsible 
saying go on this is what we 
elected you for you tell her 

and he's 
terribly nice with his gold chain and all 
but it doesn't impress wrinkly witch 
she just goes on stirring the dust 
on her floor on her wall 
in her cauldron 
and she laughs at them all 
in their checked jackets 
in their combat jackets 
with their sweaty faces 

and she says go away 
i don't want to be disturbed 
but they bang harder and scream 
let us in let us in let us in 

but wrinkly witch is very cool 
she miaus at her cat 
and the cat climbs up the chimney 
and sits up the tree 
and asks us politely to leave 
since its too nice an afternoon to argue 
and the woods are very pleasant 

but they don't listen 

what's she done i ask 

she changes says the lilac hatted woman 
into flowers adds the grey faced man 
with the purple mole growing queasily 
on his chin, and what's more and worse 
she won't tell anyone how she does it 

not at all i ask 
not at all they say 
she's very secretive 
she just says plant yourself 
isn't that stupid now go on admit it 
you've never heard anything so stupid 

and they all start shouting again 
and banging on her door 
but it doesn't do much good because 
she's sitting with her feet up drinking daisy tea 
and thinking about fungi 

she is that is until the big guys at the front 
smash in her door which being glass 
goes in every direction but somehow comes 
down very easily like sparkling water and doesn't hurt anyone 

and they grab wrinkly witch and 
they batter her to make her tell but 
she doesn't know what all the fuss is about 
so they do a series of distinctly unpleasant 
things to her and 
twist her ears 
behind her legs and 
twist her cat 
around her neck and 
hang her up like 
an elongated bat 
from the horseshoe nail 
over the door and then 

they walk back into the forest saying 
well that's that and wasn't it simple 
and how i wish joe jeremy jean had been here 
and its time for tea and did you miss 
the fun how sad and they go off to 
feed breadcrumbs to pigeons and don't 
think about wrinkly witch anymore 

which doesn't bother her hanging over the door 
because the minute they'd gone away the 
very minute the butcher's blue-and-white rump had disappeared 
the cat winked very broadly at the sun and 
the wrinkly witch burst out 
brightly blooming.