Fragment, 1975

Laestrogeni Megotrovitch
Went daft as a rubber ball,
So they put him in a padded cell
And he bounced from wall to wall.
The miller's men and a gaunt old tree
Came bearing gifts of cups of tea,
And chocolate chunks and paper clips
And hazel nuts and leather whips.
'He was our friend in better times'
A miller's man explained,
'Down by the surge in Kennel Vale
Where the primroses once played.'
'I mind the time he made a joke,'
The bent old beech recalled,
'Close by the shade of the powder mill,
Where the water wheel once rolled.
'It set my leaves a-dancin then,
And I must confess I cried;
I'd never thought an old stick like me
Could feel a joke inside.'