Friday, January 1, 2010

story with Norse words

window fellow
drags leg
ragged skin
ill kid
freckled gape
root birth
wrong sky
raises muck
lifts gear
scant scraps
slight gauntlet
wants get 
cake loan
until sale
tight thrift
skirting carping
rids trust
calls ill
they ugly
weak skill
ransacks stacks
scores scare
bags egg
casts loose
takes knife
scuffles simpers
hits husband
anger slaughter
clubs both
outlaw law
seem same
low though
bleak crook
wings die

5 comments:

Jenny said...

Claude,

The first poem here in 2010.

Coincidence, I recently read about words with Scandinavian origin in the English language. I laughed out loud when I saw how laconic and barren these loanwords are. So typical of this region!

I enjoyed reading this one a lot. It sounds brilliant read aloud too. Thanks!

Megan Duffy said...

This is a brilliantly built poem. I find your work to be fresh and so well done!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I am amazed by the structure of this one. Plus, I am from Norway, so these words were thrilling. Thank you.

Francis Scudellari said...

I love how this story is stripped to the bare essentials, befitting the words' origin.

Claudette Cohen said...

Thanks so very much for your comments. Yes, these words from the North are so rich in their bleakness, their darkness, and what they do to the mouth when you speak them. It was great fun crafting this and sharing it with you.