Forgotten Ground Regained

Merry Dancers

The Bear’s noust was buskitbricht, as langships flichteredskinklin sails in seelentseas abune the easin.The ferlie fleet, skirin, flitted throu the pitmirkhaugh o stervin hirsels,heizin forestams bleezin.
The Hunter’s heich winter haen was filled wi sillerbirks an beech in waretime brechan, keenly sheenin. Aiks an ash in back-enarmour scaumt the starny fiel wi flame, a leeminforest ower Orkney.
Sweelin jaws an swelchiessank the skimin langships; the trees tint their glentintargets, reived by darkness.Slockened ingles, smuikin,smuired the Lion’s tourinshore wi coom. The carry’scannles sist their dancin.
Photo by Holly Elson
Part of Forgotten Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, Issue 8, Fall, 2025: Norse and Icelandic Forms
Note from the Editor:
This poem is in Modern Scots.
It was the joint winner of the Hugh McDiarmid Tassie for poetry in the Scots Language Society's annual Sangschaw competition.
It is written according to the rules of Old Norse dróttkvætt meter, which requires eight three-stress lines joined in pairs by alliteration according to the normal rules, but which adds several additional constraints, such as requirements for internal rhyme and feminine line endings (see Rahul Gupta’s article later in this issue for the full formal rules.)
Glossary
Merry Dancers: the northern lights (aurora borealis)The Bear: the constellation, Ursa Majornoust: the place in which a boat is hauled upThe Bear’s noust: the skybuskit: adornedbricht: brightlangship: longshipflichter: to flutter, fly awkwardly or unsteadilyskinklin: sparklingseelent: silentabune: aboveeasin: the edge of the sky, the horizonferlie: unusual, strange; wonderful, marvelousskirin: bright, gleamingpitmirk: dark as a pit, pitch darkhaugh: a piece of level ground, gen. alluvial, on the banks of a river, river-meadow landstervin: freezinghirsels: a flock of sheep, the number of sheep looked after by one shepherd or on one small farmstervin hirsels: stars; haugh of stervin hirsels: the night skyheizin: lifting, raising up, hoistingforstam: ship’s prowbleezin: blazingThe Hunter: the constellation Orionheich: highhaen: a haven, (natural) harboursiller: silverbirk: birchwaretime: springtimebrechan: plaid
  • siller birks an beech in waretime: green auroral light sheenin: shining
  • aiks: oaks
  • back-en: late-season
  • aiks an ash in back-en armour: red auroral light
  • scaum: to scorch
  • sterny: starry
  • fiel: field
  • leemin: gleaming, glittering
  • ower: over
  • sweelin: of water, waves: to roll, to spread, to flow with a swirling motion 
  • swelchies: whirlpools
  • skime: to glance, shine with reflected light, gleam
  • tint: lost
  • glentin: glinting
  • reived: stolen, removed
  • slocken: quenched, put out
  • ingles: hearth-fires
  • smuir: to bury or cover over thickly so as to obscure or obliterate
  • The Lion: the constellation Leo
  • tourin: heaping up; rising high in the air, of flames
  • coom: coal-dust, soot
  • carry: the sky
  • cannle: candle
  • sist: stay, stop, or halt
Copyright © Colin Mackenzie, 2025
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