Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

buccmaster of holland she saes to me she does not smerc only locs at me lic she is ascan sum thing. it is annis the gebur of my dead wifman i had thought her gan in the fyr

annis i saes why is thu with this man

i will tell thu this saes grimcell and i will tell thu what has becum of the fyrd of the north and the eorls if thu will hiere it

all i will hiere from thu is scit i saes

cum now saes aelfgar who stands now also. we has all spoc hard things for these is hard times but we is all anglisc folcs agan the bastard can we not sitt and spec

i locs hard then at grimcell and at annis. then i saes spec then spec for we wolde cnaw the tidans but if there is any words of ire or any scit spoc about the eald hus or buccmaster and his cynn there will be blud

by the fyr then we sits and we eats loafs and tofe who seems blithe to see grimcell again saes to him so tell us tell grimcell what has been. has thu been with the fyrd of the north has thu been feohtan

grimcell then he bites from a loaf and he eats slow and then he specs

i gan from the brunnesweald he saes not locan at me and i gan to earninga straet and i gan north. on the straet i found other men who also was gan to eorfic for we had all hierde about the eorls and the fyrd and we was thincan we wolde be in a great war agan the frenc and we wolde haf our blud for the blud of our cynn and cyng at sanlac and angland wolde be anglisc again

well we walced for two daegs on this straet but we did not get to eorfic for soon we seen men cuman south and they was in fear and ire. when we spac to them they saed they had cum from eorfic and that the fyrd of the north was gan for the men had run there had been no feohtan

what cum saes godric

a fyrd cum together saes grimcell in eorfic with edwin and morcar and cyng malcolm of the scots and sum wealsc folcs and many anglisc. the bastard hierde of this and he gan north also he toc his cnihts up the straet and he cum to eorfic and efen before they seen him cum malcolm and the wealsc they gan baec for they was full of great words when alone but when they seen a fyrd of the frenc with the flag of the bastard at its head they scat their brices and they fled lic wifmen

fuccan ingengas i saes i telt thu do not trust them

and what of the anglisc fyrd saes tofe

the anglisc fled also saes grimcell and i sees he does not loc at me as he specs. none wolde feoht the frenc cnihts on hors in style with sweords. so the bastard he gan in to eorfic and the tun gan on its cneows to him and the northern eorls runs for the holt and all is worse efen than before the risan. now the frenc they has macd castels in eorfic and in grantabrycg and huntenadun and efen in lincylene in this scir and these castels they is macd by anglisc thralls and is full of frenc cnihts so that if efer again there is a risan in these places there will be anglisc blud before efen it has begun

naht is saed for sum time after this tale but my heorte is full. i locs at my men and i can see they is thincan yes buccmaster was right. yes we was agan him and we did not lysten but he was right there was no hope with this fyrd for he has seen the triewth when other men is esols.

after sum time i spac to annis

and thu annis i saes what does thu do here with this man

i cum baec down earninga streate saes grimcell to me and i did not cnaw what to do or where to go. i wolde not go baec to the brunneswealde but where else colde i go. i did not cnaw so i walced to the fenns for it colde be there was folcs there i cnawan it colde be i might lif there again in sum way. and then on the straet i cum across annis who i cnawan well as the gebur of thy wifman odelyn

do not spec her name cottar

and i also was lost saes annis. she specs slow lic she is not afeart. nefer had i trusted this gebur. she was a scort wifman scort and eald her haer graeg her nebb lined and her eages blaec. when she was my wifs gebur i had thought she was agan me always she wolde stand by odelyn and when i needed to beat my wif or to tell her what she most do in the hus annis wolde stand there still saen naht locan most times at the ground but i colde feel she was agan me

i was lost she saes and had been since i left this ham. i had been in sum other hams with folcs i had cnawan but always i was mofan i had no place to go to be. on the straet i seen grimcell and we thought to cum baec here to see what had becum of this place

and thu was hiere

what does thu mean

thu was here gebur when the frenc cum to my hus

annis she does not loc at me now only locs in to the fyr and for sum time is still and then she specs

yes she saes i was here

i sees aelfgar and tofe locan at me but i does not loc at them

then thu will tell me i saes tell me now of it

annis saes naht

annis i saes i wolde cnaw what cum to my wif

well at this annis she loccd at me and her eages was lytel and it was lic she was locan in me for sum thing. why wolde i asc her why wolde she tell me why wolde i belyf her belyf any folcs

buccmaster she saes and she specs soft to me lic i is a cilde buccmaster we did not cnaw where thu had gan

i gan to get aels i saes i telt odelyn i gan to get aels for foda

she locs at me again then and then she specs. well she saes it seemed lic a good daeg i will always see it in my heorte. the heofon was wid and clene that daeg

it was i saes it was

well it was only a daeg she saes lic any other daeg and we was doan things in the hus. odelyn began weafan on her loom she was macan a rug and i gan down to the barn to fecc milc from the cu so i was not in the hus when

she stops then

i milcd the cu she saes and i cum out of the door of the barn and from there i seen two men cum to the hus on two hors. i colde see from there that these was not men from the ham or any men i had efer seen and they did not loc lic they brought us good things

annis stops specan again and locs at the fyr

i did not go to the hus buccmaster she saes. i gan baec in the barn so i colde not be seen and i loccd ofer

tell me i saes tell me wifman

what to tell she saes slow. they gan in thy hus buccmaster and i hierde wepan then callan from odelyn and still i loccd when i sceolde haf gan to help or to get help but i did not cnaw what i wolde do. there was wepan and callan from odelyn and i colde not stand to hiere it but then it stopped and then there was stillness i colde hiere fugols callan in the holt

and then

after sum time i seen the fyr gan up in the thaecc of thy hus buccmaster and it teorned the heofon blaec and that mofd me that woc me and i gan from the barn in to the holt and i ran to the ham

at this i saed naht what colde i sae

i got to the ham saes annis still locan at the fyr i got to the ham thincan to call men to cum for odelyn but there was mor of these folcs in the ham and mor beornan and then i cnawan what had cum and what colde i do what colde i do

grimcell then he puts his hand on her sculdor though he saes naht

thu ran then i saes. annis locs at me her eages deorc

i ran she saes lic thu ran. lic all who wolde lif run from the frenc lic the hara from the hund. i ran to the holt i ran to folcs i cnawan and here we is now here we is under the treows of angland

and all hunds i saes

and all lifan saes grimcell

and we will feoht saes tofe we will cwell these hunds lic we has cwelled many in this place

that night we slept in the small holt by my hus me and my men that is tofe aelfgar siward and godric. grimcell i wolde not let him stay with us not to sleep he was not triewe and he did not want to stay he wanted to go in to the ham to see his eald place and if there was any mor folcs there. of course there wolde not be i telt him all was gan but he wolde go and i was glad for he was an esol who colde not see my triewth