“Staffordshire Hoard” by Idris Anderson (poetry, ’06)

An excerpt from “Staffordshire Hoard” by Idris Anderson (poetry, ’06) available in The American Journal of Poetry:

 

“Staffordshire Hoard”

When the earth was flat    and the edge of lands-end
a foul mud-fen    of reedy muck,
in the kingdom of Mercia    the king commanded
the killing of marauders,    man-slaughterers
gold-greedy    for garnets of goldsmiths,
famed fashioners    of fine-wrought fastenings,
knots and loops    on lovely surfaces
of cheek plates and chin pieces,    chain links
on sword hilts and helmets,    hand-hammered
bands and buckles,    braces and breast plates,
jewel-set treasures    untouched for ages,
gems dug from darkness,    sun-dazzled purples
fresh from furrows    of a farmer’s field. […continue reading here]