Forgotten Ground Regained

Scousenlish a-singen

Martin Kennedy Yates
At firss ma voiss wa fritful flatlish -al chit an coff lyk crake an chuffan choakt wit thorn-beak an thinny throat -but slownish an shurlish a starten singen /A fownt ma voiss in storms full forcenan a formt it from fins flex an flit of feathern /Sol for shurlish a-singen in stormlishan wit al the woilden ov wind-wet weathern /Hou high a wa hangen in tha howl ov a hoolyan lollop ina lowlish loop ov longen-waven /Twa wen a flappen for fuden in fishboat wakenan diven deep inta death-black watternthat a fownen ma voiss an ma voiss fownt me /Nowen a loven ta loop longen an lowlishan singen ower seashor and cityschapen /A charmen tha childen wi ma cheersom chirpen -an tha wimmen wit wunder an wisht a-waillen -an tha menfoulk al miserish wit melancolen uplooke hiyenan them a-wistful gazenenta steelish skyen -as am softlish serenadenthem a-weplish cryen /
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 The Rialto, issue 90, June 2021. Reprinted in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 4, Fall, 2024