Forgotten Ground Regained

Scousenlish an Scarren Yaweth

Martin Kennedy Yates
Twa diayen-enden an droppen dusklishan wester winden a-whippen wintrishwen Yaweth cum yellaping outtha wylder yonden /Im cum loopin and lankin lyk sum lunic gullyas /A firss a dinna fix na full-ken im from flokkenthen a sen tha spec ov dart in tha spartov yolker yeller ov them gollten eyen /Then a sen im fixen fast on ma fin an formenan a tink ta tek flit an tilt fa hommenbu tha na scapen na scarpen fra Scarren Yaweth /Them wikren wingen wa wyd as woildenan rappen rount al reppern an unrestlish /Wen im tek ma tynish form in them terron talonnena fillt ma fearen full-fattal as im full-fallon /An downen wem fallen, downen im draggenta tha browen wattern, wer a wa bornt an brokken /On an downen im draggen undern dedlish watterndeepern an darkren lyk im tenden mich ta drownen /It cum coltern and coalish an a cunner callena cunner scape na scrapp na shift na shivern even /As shur as shitten am shurlish dyen / A shuttem eyenwen deth cum dark an devlish a-dreamenal hadish an hellish halff-liffen halff-dethlish /A see-n-herren a hundren thousen halffen-hummanlyk halffen-fishen, halff-foulish, halff-besstlishan al wa fierss a-fighten al frantik an fritlishal beatten an brokken al battern a-bloddish /An wyrdlish a wokken al watt an weplishbent an bruzen on banken ov tha browen rivernwit ma bekk al blodden an ma hedd a-drummen eyen a-stingenbadlish brokken wingenma leggen a-cum humman /An wit tha wylder windencoltern a-krulish cummen //
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, 2024 First published in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, Issue 4, Fall, 2024