THE REGION LINUIS

THE REGION LINUIS, by Lorna Smithers:

‘Then it was that the magnanimous Arthur, with all the kings and military force of Britain, fought against the Saxons… The second, third, fourth and fifth (battles), were on another river, by the Britons called Duglas, in the region Linuis.’ – Nennius, History of the Britons.

 

In the region of endless water
I see blazoned in blue stillness
A raging sky of crimson
And a thousand crashing spears.

The host of Arthur’s war band
Reap their slaughter of the Saxons.
In spirals scream the ravens
Round the deep and bloody lake.

Fierce the red maned chargers
Through the blue and flashing sword thrusts.
Quick their dancing footfalls
Through the thick and blood stained mud.

Harsh the clash of iron on iron,
Unheard the shriek of cloven flesh,
Unmarked the final rattling breath
When ravens scream over blood.

Dead the barren battlefield,
Empty the skies of ravens and red,
Silent the stars that shine in the staring
Eyes of slaughtered men.

Sad the song of the marching shades
Departing this land to the afterlife.
Still the blue and crimson lake.
Silent the blood stained sky.
______________________________________________________________

Lorna Smithers is a poet and bard living in Lancashire in the North West of England. In 2012 she won the Preston Guild Poetry Competition. Her work has been published in The Dawntreader and Myths Inscribed. She performs regularly in the local area, facilitates creative workshops and gives talks on Eco-Bardic poetry. She is currently a resident poet at Moon Books. You can learn more about Lorna and her works at her website: http://lornasmithers.wordpress.com/