Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

i is called grimcell he saes i is with ecceard thu moste cum

ecceard lifs

ecceard wolde spec with thu he is in the holt we moste cepe from the ham now cum

sum cottar tells me cum and most times i wolde beat him but these is hard times and i gan with this grimcell who is a strong man man i gan with him into the holt and sum way baec to where the ham can be seen but none from there can see into the treows. sittan on the ground leanan on a stocc of berc is ecceard and if before he was locan lic a ghast now he is locan lic he has cum from the graef still with blud and eorth on his cold bodig to call out the synns of his lif

he locs up at me and he saes buccmaster and i only locs at him he is a hund and a weosul this is triewe but he has been gifen blud for these things now. he has cloth ofer his heafod and there is all blud on the cloth it is on his nebb and his scyrte and efen on the treow and still cuman and from his eages water is cuman also

they has tacan my eares buccmaster he saes they cut them and threw them on the fyr that was my hus

my wifman is gan he saes and he can not spec well now my wifman is gan my godgifu she was dear to me and my hus gan all is gan now

and my hus gan i saes and my wifman my odelyn i has not seen her is she beorned is she fuccd has she gan to the holt i does not cnaw ecceard it is not only thu

they is eorcas he saes i telt thu buccmaster eorcas thu cannot feoht them they cums on the wind lic the fenn feofor

they may cum again saes this grimcell we sceolde go from the ham

why wolde they cum again i saes they has fuccd and beorned all in this world there is naht left for them to tac

they has their own ways

i will not go from my land i saes where is odelyn where is my sweord there is worc to do

there is naht to do saes ecceard thu is gan from thy land now thu moste find other places other folcs where the beornan has not cum they will let none lif here. he stands then slow and he grips the treow

grimcell and me we is goan in to the holt he saes we is goan from here we is not esols. grimcell helps him stand and he locs at me then

thu sceolde cum he saes there is few anglisc and many frenc now to lif thu moste stay in the holt

well i was not goan with them for where was all of my world where was my wif i had things i moste find. baec to my hus i gan and to all the land around it and i was callan odelyn odelyn where is thu. she may haf gan to the holt or be hidan but there was no sound no sign from her nor from annis her gebur whose hus was also gan. in the aesc i was locan but the aesc was hot and smocan and i colde not go there and so there i was standan locan at all my cwelled lif all things gan in fyr and none to hold down for this none to answer to me only these frenc ghasts who has cum and is gan

well i cnawan then what i moste do so i gan to my boat and to the fenn i gan and i was rowan rowan hard pullan baec my arms beornan with it i was mofan lic the swealwe through the heofon through the saw secg and the grene water i gan

the holt of the eald gods was still as it was always still and there lic when i was a cilde was the treows under the water under the meos and the grene deop but there was the stoccs and the stillness and lic my grandfather i put the wet ars in the boat and i sat for a time locan only bean with the stillness of the mere and of all that is eald and triewe and then i spac

i is buccmaster of holland i saes a socman of this land

i is buccmaster son of ascetil son of leofric a man of thy ways a man of the eald times a man of thy hus

i is cum to call thu to the feoht for angland is beornan in ingenga fyr thy folcs is bledan their crist has left them lic we saed lic we always saed he wolde

i satt then lystnan and the fugols spac baec at me but from the water there was naht. i loccd down ofer the side of the boat the stoccs was the same as efer blaec and deop and still lic the graef

in the boat then i stands it is hard it mofs cwic and is undeop but i stands and to the heofon i raises my arms

woden of the duns i saes one eaged gifer of lif lord of raefn and wulf dweller in deorc beorgs ealdor of runes hung up and cut down god of war and god of the graef cum to us

thunor of the holt hamor of men ealdor of the leas and the lihtnan born in ac and fyr cum to us

frigg of the hus of the grene lif of small things and triewe of the heorte under the ban of wicce craft and all that is growan cum to us

great erce mothor of all who is grene and blaec who is wind and snow who is water and stan who is hafoc and craw and blud who is lif of the bodig and death of the bodig who is efry lifan thing in the wid fenn and the wid world cum to us

i stands i brings my arms down slow

there is naht

naht cum but the wind and the wind then it tacs me and it scufs me it scufs me lic a man or a god has scufd me ofer the boat and in to the mere

well this holds no fear for me i can mof through water as through holt or feld this was gifen when a yonge cilde. the water is colde it is eosturmonth it is hard to breathe i is ceocan breathan cwic but it seems to me i has been cast in to the mere to be sum thing after the brocn land and after the fyr

i tacs in a great breath then and i gan down

down i gan down in to the blaec but my eages is open i gan down i pulls hard down to the treows i sees them cuman up to me i sees them blaec and mofan with the water i puts out my hand and i feels them cold and hard and slimd and then the water tacs me baec up up to the boat to the heofon to the world and i cums up ceocan to breathe and now with sum thing i has nefer had that no man has efer been gifan

now thu has been there

it is lic ys

thu has been to the holt

they did not cum

they is here

i called they did not cum

does thu thinc they cums in fyr in the heofon

what then

they cums in thu

when

thine is the bodig thu ceoses the time

it is lic ys

be triewe

that night i gan to the holt where my swine was before they was cwelled by the scuccas and i made a fyr to dry myself and i satt and locd at the fyr and all was still for a long night. when the sunne cum i rose from the aesc of my small fyr and i gan ofer to the aesc of the great fyr what had been my hus and was now cold and still

into this aesc i gan and for sum time i was in it delfan and secan and i was aesc then on my nebb and in my haer and beard and on all my clothes all was aesc and i was secan

first i found my sweord my grandfathers sweord still on the beam what had cum down all blaec and i lifted the sweord and clened it and carried it from the hus and laid it down on the ground. then i gan baec and for sum time i loccd and i toc sum other things what i was needan sum things what does not beorn what is made of style and gold and i clened these things and laid them on the ground with my sweord to tac to where i moste go. then i gan baec and this last time i found odelyn

all mete she was all of her lif gan in fyr blaec and beorned lic sum hara or cicen coccd on a fyr too hot and long. her scap was not wifman was sum thing not of this world for she had gan to the other. i seen not what had been done to her and was not there for her when i was needed and this is my weacness what now i sceal lif with for it is my curse and this wifman who none sceolde efer harm who was triewe and who was lufd by me and cept lic a cwen in all things now was gan in frenc fyr and this macd me a small man small and weac and with my sweord still on the beam and my self gan for aels while my wifman was fuccd and cwelled by ingengas. and why wolde these gods spec with me why wolde they not smerc at me scun me lic a sic hund a sic man a sic weosul

all gan all was gan and so i gan i toc what i had and i gan away from my hus and land. before i gan i dug a graef for my odelyn and i laid her down with luf and with curses for those who tocc her from me and with her i left sum ac wud sum treen from the fyr a scramasax sum leafs from the holt and sum secg from the fenn and i laid down also my wyrd and i saed i will tac them for thu i will haf my wergild in frenc blud and ofer her then i swept the eorth and all was done on my lands and nefer did i thinc to see them again in this world