Forgotten Ground Regained
Huscarl
Tony Mitchell
Originally published in Withowinde 200, p. 42, Winter, 2021
War wounds, weeping red,Warrior’s wounds, no remedy; No holding hungry blades back; Dire days, defeatAt the last, war weary,Borne down like Byrtnoth,The shield wall battered, broken,Harold’s hopes, destroyed,Norwegians then Normans too strong,Aelfred’s achievements annulled,Aethelflaed’s, too,Beowulf’s bravery undone,All gone! Lessons not learnedFrom Canute’s resounding rebuke.Hauberk, helmet and swordHang high on the wallSilent, suffering’s solution,Huge axe-heads hall-hung forever.Withering, wanton, Worldshift,Almost one thousand years ago.
Copyright © Tony Mitchell, 2021
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