all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small
all things wise and wonderful, the lord god made them all.
but what we never mention, though goodness knows it's true
lo , when he made the goodies, he made the baddies too.
all things paraquatable, the lord god made them all.
the greenfly on the roses, the maggots in the peas
manure that fills our noses - he also gave us these
the fungus on the goosegogs, the club root on the greens
the slugs that eat the lettuce, and chew the aubergines
the drought that kills the fuchsia, the frost that nips the buds
the rain that drowns the seedlings, the blight that hits the spuds
the midges and mosquitoes, the nettles and the weeds
the pigeons in the green stuff, the sparrows on the seeds
the fly that gets the carrots, the wasp that eats the plums
how black the gardener's outlook, though green may be his thumbs.
but still we gardeners labour, 'midst vegetables and flowers
and pray what hits our neighbour's will somehow bypass ours
all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small
all things wise and wonderful - the lord god made them all.
dalone peel: chronicle of st. barnabas, autumn 1997.