Forgotten Ground Regained

Scousenlish a-fallan lufen

Martin Kennedy Yates
Twa wen a wa stel wit and yunlish an weena sen yun shegul sa shapplish an sheentha ma eyen bemakken al majik a-mistlishana cummen al colt an shivrish an keen /aber shen na shone na seemen mish a-senjas flute ova faslish al fin an nofa fren /an a gazzen an ganden agen an agenaber shen neva shote na cummen a-shorlish /twa munnen a-lattern a mussen a-makkena-flyt ta hooly ile an farren oota farnenilenwer puffen em nessen an nurt em yunnenwer graet norta-sean im grim an gra na grunan beg skyz a bruden browen na blu /an her-agen a senn sam shegul wit snolishgannen an gullamot an garralisher kittawakkenaber shen wa bessen byfarren al blakk an bute /a kenn twa ha wit nek sa curven an lankan ha grennen eyen glinten al garnlish an geltan ha wingen wa wundfallen al widden an welt /an shem a-singen sonnen al soflish an shifffa yunnen im nessen al nakken and nulish /am axen sam gannen a-tellen ha nammenaber wen im spokken ma lufen ist baddlish a-bruzzenan ma beatter hart en ma bress ist brutish a-brokken /ma dera hoppen ist dullish an dashen dedlishana feelt ma fevrish eyen full a-fillen as im spokkenmish al mystrish an mumha namm ist Quen Trutean shen al hautish a-cumfra scandan a-jute /

These poems are written in an invented language that mimics some of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic features of Middle English, as well as drawing on the regional accents and dialects of the poet's own origins in the Midlands and North West of England - most notably the Black Country, the Potteries and Liverpool. To get a feel and flow, just read phonetically, out loud and keep going. Enjoy letting the alliterative beat and rhythm carry you along, and don't worry about getting it wrong!
Copyright © Martin Kennedy Yates, 2021 Originally Published in Poetry Wales, issue 58/3, March 2023. Reprinted in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 4, Fall, 2024