The Land of the Standing Stones.
...............................................
The hour is late and the moon is high
and I hear the sound of a fox’s cry,
hoar frost embraces my shivering self
in this eerie place of the ancient elf
and I feel fear stealing away my heart
on this silver night as the wind it yarps,
in this cold northland of the standing stones.
I’ve wandered high upon Bennachie
where the icy blast takes the breath from me,
where the blood of a battle so long ago
laps round my ankles in the crisp white snow
and I fearful listen to the sound of the dead
who lie far beneath this path I tread,
in this barren land of the standing stones.
Once in the dawn of a yesteryear
in the sorrowful drop of a yestertear,
came the navis longa of the dark faced men
who left waste and rape in this highland glen
and their eagle standards waved on high
as they marching passed on their way to die,
in this granite land of the standing stones.
Calgacus host stood upon this hill
in defiance of Rome's Imperial will
but their defiance died upon pilum
of Victrix Vexillum
who carried the day
but left their bones
in this bloody land of the standing stones.
Now the sun has risen over the sea
and the rays of morning beckon me,
to forget the past and live in the now
but I wonder why and I wonder how
they ever had to disappear
those blue faced men who knew no fear
in my harsh cold land of the standing stones...
G...Mar..2005
yarps...................moans
navis longa........long ship..warship
plium...................javelin
Victrix Vexillum..Victorious Standards
I just started reading a book, called the Sky Stone, about the romans in Britian, and two men who were supposed to be the great grandfathers of King Author. This poem of yours reminds me of so many references I have come across in the book.
Dear readers, this is my third book of poems, and inside are a special collection of what have turned out to be not only MY personal favorites, but also the favorites of many of YOU. Some of these have never been available in print before...
You told this so well.......ty pax A