The Vikings named themselves

Think I'll keep the 'Orkney-theme' going for a couple more days ;-)

... so, here is Ken Cockburn's poem entitled 'Orkney', as taken from his pictured 2018 collection:


Orkney

we sail past Stroma’s empty fields
the Maidens grind the sea-gods’ salt
binoculars to scan the scene
the latent power the races hold

divers down among the wrecks
I don’t know what it is I’ve found
a haar drifts in across the rocks
the crab’s blue shell fades in the sun

the Romans came and saw and left
Vikings named themselves in runes
a hoard of shards the dig unearthed
the sacred grove is made of stone

unfurl your banner to the breeze
starlings wheel across the sky
a spotted orchid in the verge
the wind is in the blades and flags

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Ken Cockburn (1960 - )

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