The Hag

The hag is astride
  This night for to ride,
The devil and she together;
  Through thick and through thin,
  Now out and then in,
Though ne’er so foul be the weather.

  A thorn or a burr
  She takes for a spur,
With a lash of a bramble she rides now;
  Through brakes and through briars,
  O’er ditches and mires,
She follows the spirit that guides now.

  No beast for his food
  Dare now range the wood,
But hush’d in his lair he lies lurking;
  While mischiefs, by these,
  On land and on seas,
At noon of night are a-working.

  The storm will arise
  And trouble the skies;
This night, and more for the wonder,
  The ghost from the tomb
  Affrighted shall come,
Call’d out by the clap of the thunder.
The Hag

by Robert Herrick, 1648
