Gorse (furze)

The open country now displaying
Sunshine yellow everywhere
Brimstone sulphur Lemon honey
It’s bold sprays ofcourse we share
Fertility is ripe with reason
Every month of every year
Likes to grow alone And thorny
An invasive legume that is clear

Get down close and smell the nosegay
Those wafts of honey surely they
Bloom all year and stays
in leaf
Fixes nitrogen they say
Bees are clearly overcome by
Loads of pollen and nectar too
Really does make excellent kindling
Oily branches burn they do

The bramble tree
It can be lethal
Wounding horses passing by
Sheep enjoy its thorny pasture
And for forty years gorse seeds can lie
Dormant waiting for the spark of life to be
Excited by

Gorse ashes can make soap a plenty
As fertilisers add a deal
Cattle and horses Choose the fodder
Apparently it does appeal
Furze flowers pickled a bit like capers
And a tea for the flowers can be
Good for children with the fever
Or those with jaundice apparently

Furze blossoms soaked in vinegar
Are good to dye eggs yellow
Great upon the bonfire at Beltane
As we bellow
Louder than the aged bull
In the pasture green
An aggressive coloniser
Who just soaks up the scene.