Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

where is he gan tofe is saen

to the fenn saes grimcell

what does he do there

who cnawan what he efer does

and what will he do with this biscop does thu thinc saes godric

all locs ofer then to turold who locs baec not smercan not specan

tell us then of what he done after his father sent him out saes godric

oh the fuccers she is talcan of my cynn

well none cnawan what becum of him saes annis. it was spac about in the ham micel for folcs thought the buccmasters was always odd folcs and so this cept them specan for months. well i was a yonge wifman then and not lifan with them so i did not see it but he was gan for sum years and none cnawan where. sum saed he went to the holts and lifd with out laws and others that he was a beorner of col. i was telt by a gleoman that he gan ofer the seas for sum time

buccmaster gan ofer the seas saes grimcell and he laughs

well it was a tale saes annis and i can not sae if there is triewth in it

and then saes godric

and then saes annis he cum baec

and

he cum for his father who had sent him out. his father had saed he wolde nefer see him again but buccmaster he wolde cum baec. he wolde haf his place and his land and his sistor

and what becum

none cnawan for none was there but the three of them buccmaster and his father and his sistor there was no others. it was a daeg of ys in geola when he cum baec. we seen the smoc risan to the heofons from the ham

smoc saes tofe for efen he efen he is lystnan to the scit from this fuccan fatt wifmans mouth

they was beorned in the barn saes annis the lyan esol. the barn was beorned and in it was his sistor and his father. men did not find them until sum time later and none cnawan what cum to them. i spoc to sum men in the ham saed buccmaster was seen later that daeg in his boat on the fen druncen lic a hors on aeppels at haerfest specan to the wind lic he was gan in the heafod

i has spac to men also saes grimcell who found him after for he wandrd in the holts near his fathers land and when men cum to him he wolde sae out laws had cum from the holt and cwelled his folcs and beorned the barn.

well this colde be triewe saes tofe why wolde thu thinc it not. he is a good cilde a triewe cilde aways he has been triewe and now he is bold for he is growan

why sceolde we lysten to thy tales of him saes tofe now to annis. buccmaster sum times is odd but thu is saen he cwelled his own cynn that he is mad and yfel but we cnawan naht of thu annis wif. he is not here to spec his triewth and this only is why thu specs we does not cnaw why thu might sae these things or who thu is or why thu wolde spec agan him

many in the ham belyfd these tales saes grimcell and now that i cnaw buccmaster i is thincan them triewe also

thu may saes tofe for thu and buccmaster is both strong men and has been feohtan but these is words only and we has had naht to tell us if there is any triewth in them

annis them she sits still for a time and then she locs at tofe and specs slow so i can hardly hiere.

cilde she saes i did not want to thinc of buccmaster of holland efer again. nefer to spec of him nefer to see him and i does not want to be here in this place neither but thu sceolde cnaw who leads thu. ah of course he wolde lead thu for always he moste lead always he moste haf men loccan up at him lic sum ealdor when in triewth he is cilde only. i tell thu this man is of the cynd what moste be tied down always lic a hund moste be tied by the law by the eages of other men. all ties is gan now broc by the frenc and with no bridel on him a man lic this can do any thing for all the world is his enemi all the world

tell me what thu thincs of this fuccan scit tell me

i thincs lic thu

the fatt hore moste die

all is agan thu

all sceolde die all of them

my sweord was gifen to thu

all has been agan me since i was a cilde what colde i do

what colde thu do

my father was agan me my own father my wifman my sons

all agan thu

aelfgifu she who i lufd when a cilde my sistor

thy sistor

she gan agan me when i cum baec

all of them all of them

i did not mean to tac her that way

thu had thy right

she was my sistor

she lufd thu

it was my right

any man wolde do the same

it was my land

thy land

all is broc

what will thu do

i will rise smith i will rise

loc up buccmaster of holland

up

gan to the secg loc up to the heofon

the secg the heofon why

do it now

well i gan out of the holt then to the ecg of the fenn where the yeolo secg met the land and the efen was cuman in across the low waters. fugols was callan and climban up and cuman down again and the sunne was startan to fall down to eorth and with it cum its yeolo light across the flat lands of my folcs

now see how the word is cept

and i seen them i seen them cuman then and always will this stay with me until i is in the ground under a beorg or in a great beornan scip lic all anglisc ealdors sceolde be. ofer the fenn from the place where the hus of the eald gods lay ofer the secg ofer the heofon i seen the eald hunters. i colde not tell all of the riders who was mofan with them there was so many and they mofd in a way that colde not be loccd at for micel time by men. all was deop blaec and there was no sound to be hierde

at the head of the hunt was eald woden who i had seen at the deorc ea that night his cenep long and hwit his one eage locan at me specan to the blaec hunds what ran before him in the heofon their eages great and scinan and with the hunds was the great hwit wulf i had seen by the ea the wulf what had loccd at me. great woden rode a great blaec hors but many of the hunters was on goats with eages of fyr and was blowan horns though no sound was macd by them. sum loccd lic eald cyngs with helms and sweords but others was ealdor than cyngs ealdor efen than angland they did not loc lic men they was lic eald wihts lic the treows them selfs blaec and carfan into scaps not of this world. they had cum up from the treows cum up from the mere cum up into the heofon they had cum baec for angland lic my grand father had telt me. they had cum for me cum for me and i cnawan now that it was time and i cnawan what i moste do

i gan down to my cneows then in the secg and i felt them go ofer me and i felt great weland locan ofer as he gaf them sige and i cnawan again who i was what i was what i had cum here for

i is buccmaster of holland and the eald gods has ridden for me

i colde feel the efen cuman in stronger now and the deorcness cuman down on the land. ofer in the treows where my men sat i colde see a fyr beginnan to rise. i stood up then and i gan ofer again to the graef of my wifman odelyn and i stood locan down at the grene beorg for sum time and i saed naht for naht was there now to sae

then i gan from the graef i gan baec in to the holt and i found where i had left what i was locan for. i found where i had put in a scealo graef the things i had toc from the fyrs aesc two years befor and i had cnawan one daeg i wolde cum for when i needed. things what my grand father had gifan to me before he gan eald things what my father had nefer cnawan about. these was things of the eald times my grand father had saed these is the things of feohtan men of eald angland and when the feohtan cums again when thu moste cepe thy land and thy freodom agan ingengas and cyngs thu moste tac welands sweord and tac these things and then cilde thu moste stand agan all

thy cyngs was weac

harald cyng edgar cyng all of the ealdors

angland was weac

angland moste haf new cyngs