Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

on a great straet lic this thu wolde pass many folcs for it gan down they saed right to lundun and up also to northern places. this was the straet what harald cyng toc to go north and cwell hardrada and it was the straet now what the bastard and his men toc to sec out anglisc who stood agan them and gif them blud. in the winter the bastard it was saed had cum baec from his frenc lands and toc angland again in his hands and he had seen that his biscop brothor odo had fuccd and cwelled the lands so bad that many mor anglisc was risan agan the frenc and if the bastard will gif any thing to a biscop i saes this is what he will get

but we cum on many folcs as we gan down this straet the six of us we seen hors and we seen wagns we seen folcs on foot alone and in gangs we seen ox and hunds and sum times efen we seen frenc. when we seen frenc on the straet always on hors of course sum was afeart though not i. naht was done for in triewth none colde tell us from ham folcs or tincers or beorners and since frenc did not cnaw for sure what was done in these parts then grene men colde smile and waef at them as they gan by and they wolde not cnaw we was thincan of coccan their beallucs ofer the fyr

in the holt time mofs in ways not lic those in the hams but still it colde be seen that the world was teornan to the light for the treows was buddan grene and the blosms was cuman up on the ground. we gan down the straet for it colde be three or four daegs and we gan by hams in this time what was doan all the things of the month of thrimilci when the cow is milcd three times in a daeg. we seen dices bean dug and madder and flax bean sown and harrowan bean done and all of this macd me thinc again of my land and efry time a spere gan in to my heorte

sum there is who mofs and sum who stays it now seems to me and i was one who stayed. i had my land i cnawan my ham and my folcs i was a great man there i had growan from that eorth lic a treow and then lic a treow i was tacan up by the roots and cast on hard ground. sum there is who wolde be cast all ofer sum who mofs lic the gleoman from place to place sum lic my dunstan who dremed of ingenga lands sum lic beorners or out laws who macs mofan their place but i was not one for i had seen what mofan was and mofan is sorness mofan is fear. stayan is right stayan where the gods has put thu if all folcs wolde stay then all things wolde be in their right place i telt this to my father

it was the third daeg of walcan down this straet and we was nearan stan ford. efry night we slept in the holt sum way from the straet and on this mergen when we woc the gleoman saes he wolde tac us to a ham what was near. we was needan foda and sum other small things and he telt us he cnawan of a ham what wolde gif wel cum to grene men for this ham was agan the bastard and all the frenc

can thu feel in the heofon what has cum this daeg saes the gleoman as we gan through the grenan holt

in the heofon i saes

it is litha he saes it is the first daeg of litha

litha saes the men litha this is good

will there be maedens in grene saes aelfgar in this ham

maedens with blosms saes gamel

maedens saes tofe

all ofer angland all ofer this world the cuman of litha is a thing to be sang for and sang to. this grene daeg is the byrth of the sumor and the beginnan of all the wundors that erce brings to folcs when the frost is gan when the daegs is bright when the ground is breathan and in its breath is the warmth of what is new

in our ham on the first daeg of litha there wolde be micel singan steppan drencan and lufan in the holts and the felds and for me this was both a swete thing and a deorc one. my grandfather had telt me about the eald ways of biddan the sumor wel cum in the times of the eald gods and the first folcs and sean what folcs done now i colde see micel of this still. i colde see the feccan of the grene in to the ham and the macan of the pal from a great treow what wolde be brought to the ham and folcs wolde sing by this. all of this had cum from the words of the eald gods from the luf of treow and holt what our eald folcs had but now it was a game only and a game what was locd ofer by the preost who wolde bring his bocc and bury the eald grene ways with the ingenga words of the crist

still it was litha and litha is grene and warm and for us men what had been in deorc wuds wet and cold and with deorc heortes for this long winter it was a thing to feel good for. we gan with the gleoman to where he toc us and we gan slow for we had been so long in the holt and was so wary of frenc and of anglisc who seen us as hunds or things to be feart that we did not thinc this ham wolde be as blithe to haf us cum as this gleoman had saed. but this time this last time the gleoman telt a truth for what we had when we cum to this ham is sum thing i will haf with me always

we had gan away from the straet and down a path in to the holt. here the holt was light for it was worcd wud and swine wud so there was sum great acs and aesc treows but many mor small thynne haesels and lyms what was cut and growan again lic lines up to the heofon. many wyrmfleages was flutteran around and fugols was singan high and the sunne was cuman through the grene treows whose leafs was yonge and light there was sound all around and the holt smelt clene lic the lif of this land in the times before men. all of us was walcan lic it was a new year lic we was cum again in to this world

we cum to the ham after an hour on this traec it was a small place in a lea in the holt. eight or nine thaccd hus satt around a place where there was a cross of wud for the crist and his folc had been here efen here to the deops of this eald holt. there was small places cut in to the ground where holt had been and many swine mofan about free. hunds was sittan in the sunne and folcs was doan as folcs does. near to the ham there was an ea it colde be hierde runnan through the treows and wifmen was down there talcan as they talcs ofer and ofer. all of this smelt of smoc and the cuman grene

when the folcs here seen us cuman it was not lic in sum other hams where they gan still or mofd away no here they cum to us in blitheness. sean the gleoman then locan at us all blaec with aesc and the stenc of the holt and they seen what we was and was smercan at us when they cum. a gang of maedens cum mor lic yonge wifmen than maedens they was of beuty and good sceap and carryan leafs carryan the grene they cum to us and withigs they put around all of our throtas from the gleoman to tofe and i and efen to dumb wluncus withigs of grene of the leafs of the holt of litha

grene withigs for grene men they saes for sumor is in angland and angland will be again in sumor

these maedens is laughan and smercan at us and my men is laughan and smercan at them on account of hafan been lifan in the holt far from wifmen for too long they is weac they has not the strength what cums from the heorte. then we sees through them cuman a man not too old not too yonge but who seems strong. it is clere he is the gerefa here and that he is triewe not lic most

who is leaden these men he saes

i is buccmaster of holland i saes these is my men what of it

well buccmaster of holland he saes i is wulfhere who is called wulf i is gerefa of this ham and thu is bid wel cum here as men of angland as free men. this is a ham of free folcs we has not had sight of frenc yet for we is small and apart and we is still and this is how we will cepe it. but all here lufs freodom and stands agan the ingenga and we is blithe now that thu has cum to us for thu is the men who will mac us free again. now cum eat drenc plege with us for it is the first daeg of litha and lif is cum again to the land

i locs on this daeg now in the small ham in the brunnesweald as the last daeg that was good in all of my lif. it was the last daeg also when our men was free it was the last daeg that we was yonge lic cildren in the grene land before we was tacan to another place before what i was and what i was to do was gifen to me clere. long it was now since i had gan down to the treows under the mere but it was only now that their triewth cum to me in the light of the new time