Crimson’s Creative Challenge #39
Chains long in the making
Chains not for the breaking
Tie me to this, my waterside settlement
Links forged by my kin
Links forged in Anglin
Held us while crossing
Chased by the Flooding
on storm-seas that were tossing
Chains secured the steading
Chains measured the crop land
Chains ringed this, Hranni’s Land
My beloved Ranworth
It’s disputed whether Ranworth means Settlement on the Edge (of the river? or of the heath?) or if it means Hranni’s Settlement. So I allowed for both. Regardless, it is the land of my fore-fathers, as is the Anglin region of Denmark (though probably via Frisia).
And for those who didn’t see it tagged to the end of Wednesday’s post, the chains in the photo secure Ranworth Broad’s Visitor Centre to the land. The broad is fed by the River Bure, which here is tidal, thus the Centre must have freedom to rise, and fall, and not float away.
crispina kemp 
Great poem, I wasn’t sure what the picture was showing. Thanks for the clarification 😊
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Thanks. I know, without an explanation, those chains make no sense
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Thanks for the explaining the image. I was thinking about asking about it.
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I understand. To simply see the image … even seeing the actual structure … a little but mindboggling.
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Again, you have been most informative whilst giving us something wonderful to read!
Yes, those chains actually offer a certain freedom!
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I liked the irony of that. Playing with opposites. And it just so happens I do have an ancest baptised, married and buried at Ranworth church.
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Thanks for the explanation here. Great poem!
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Seems I had several scratching their heads as to their purpose. You’re not alone. Took me a while to figure it when I first saw them. 🙂
And thanks for the like of the poem.
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I could feel the poignancy in your words and the pride you have in your ancestry. Lovely Crispina 🌻
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Yes, I do have pride in my ancestry. No kings or queens, and anything grander than a yeoman is long-long ago. But English… with a heavy admixture from the Netherlands… source of the English anyway.
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I understand that totally. It’s nice 🙂
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I bow my head.
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😊🌼
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What a great poem dear.
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I thank you. I liked the idea that chains can offer a positive, settled life. Which isn’t the usual view
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It was a great idea indeed.
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🙂
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“Links forged by my kin
Links forged in Anglin
Held us while crossing”
I love how you work this bit of history into the poem 🙂
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I thank you, Tien. The one thing I couldnt fit into the poem was a mention of padlocks. 🙂
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This is a BRILLIANT poem. Well done. Wow. xo
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I thank you. Enjoyed the doing. Happy that you enjoyed the reading 🙂
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I love the poem, its sense of place. But also this phrase: “freedom to rise, and fall, and not float away”
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I thank you. Freedom doesn’t always mean to freedom to leave.
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The word repetition is particularly striking, Crispina.
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I thank you, Brian. But I need to be wary not to overuse it; it’s not the first poem that’s featured it.
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It’s appropriate to the subject matter and tone. So far, so good.
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Yea, so far. I’m posting a poem on Tuesday, for Sammi’s tortuous prompt (Song, in 102 words). I have changed the style. Sort of. Also, it’s fun.
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Lovely poem, Crispina. It has everything: local history and the landscape cleverly woven together with your own personal ancestry. Wonderful! 🙂
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I thank you, Sammi. I had a spate of inspiration. My latest offerings feel flat by comparison. Maybe my head’s in a different place?
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