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
No part of this site may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems