WITCH HAZEL

(by Tom Gala)

	I am looking at a witch hazel 
	  blooming in a garden
	the bright yellow flowers in the 
	  middle of wintertime
	and I tell heart be strong like the 
	  witch hazel flower
	and you will not be injured by this 
	  dark and troubled time.

I take myself along to a 
  place I know in winter
and I look at that south sloping bank 
  covered with ice
and I tell my heart it all will 
  melt and run down to the ocean
and you will not be injured by this 
  dark and troubled time.

	I am looking at a witch hazel ...

We must say good-bye to the one we love, we must 
  say good-bye to many
We must say good-bye, in 
  way too short a time,
and I tell my heart be strong like the 
  witch hazel flower
and you will not be injured by this 
  dark and troubled time.

	I am looking at a witch hazel ...

recording: Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, & Cindy Mangsen [YouTube]

notes: "witch" hazel etymology, history, and uses [USDA Forest Service]

notes: witch hazel in gardens and the wild [Farmers Almanac]

notes: witch hazel medicinal uses [Web MD]