Raiding for rainbows (Group Walk Two: Watchet)

 Raiding for rainbows (or 10 poets of Samhain eve) 

- Walk 2, a sequel poem to Six Poets of the Equinox (Walk 1) 

I took it upon myself to follow a rainbow today, 

O'er the Quantock Hills

From Bridgwater to Watchet, 

A Viking-raided port in West Somerset. 

Unlike those marauders, 

I did not come here for the Saxon-minted Silver pennies though, 

Moreover, on this day, I came to raid it's culture;

To find true poetry in the veins of it's people, 

It's landscape, it's place. 

Sure enough as we came together - 

Ten poets 'neath a shelter on the Esplanade (by the Ancient Mariner himself no less!), 

The dark clouds that had gathered o'er the sea relieved themselves of their heavy, burdensome rain, 

And another rainbow did appear. 

And so it came to pass that a museum of boats, of heritage, wrapped itself around us, 

And we, united in elemental distrust - in circular form, 

Sought to find meaning in each other - 

Through words spoken, divulged and heartfelt. 

Then, with renewed vigour, out onto the streets we did scatter, 

Proclaiming the sky to be ours, 

Raiding the light from every point of interest, 

To fill our imaginations, to ignite, to spark. 

Encircling once more, we gathered our inspirations;

A haul as high and wide as the relentless mud inside these harbour walls! 

But hark, there are no rusty anchors of doubt here, "no disclaimers"! 

Together, our light shall arc lighthouses of hope - like rainbows. 

A Wensley 

30 Oct 2022

Background:

"The establishment of the Saxon mint at Watchet drew the unwelcome attention of Vikings, who staged several raids between AD918 and AD997. A re-enactment of a 988 raid was held at Watchet in 1988 to celebrate the town’s 1,000 years of history – this was witnessed by huge crowds."*

Source: Watchet Museum 

*My school was part of this crowd and I remember all the activities, drawings etc on this topic in class at the time.