Deep Mercia by Adrian Johnson
"It’s a Mercian hoard and should be displayed in Mercia." Cllr Martin Mullaney
See a YouTube video of Adrian Johnson reading this poem to visitors waiting to see the 'Staffordshire Hoard' at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery on 13 October 2009.And, can you dig this?
Yes, it’s treasure!
Terry Herbert stood in Staffordshire mud
In the middle lands
Where John Clare kicked up poems, he dug treasure
Where Roy Fisher thinks with Birminghum
Terry’s little metal detector
Hummed and sang to its ancient Anglo- Saxon gold and silver brother
buried treasure!
deep
from round here
In a hurry, crushed and packed and dug down
for some time later.
Anglo Saxon treasure, set with bright red garnets
plundered or traded from overseas
A folded crucifix, ornate buttons, toggles
swordless handles
dazzle and inspire - us
stuff worth waiting for - us
stuff worth queuing for - us
me and you, stood here to look
look! a message scratched in Latin
look! five fabulous kilograms of mystery and magic
It’s treasure – keep it secret!
It’s treasure – a Mercian casket
Stuffed with gold and silver
Save it for later, after the drama and the battle
Save it for later, now, right here in the middle.
Link the past to present
Where they made it, etched it, beat out
beauty – way back then, 700 AD
Line up, stand up, come and see it
Terry Herbert went and dug it
man!
The missing link
between ancient Mercia, panel beater
and silver, magic, jewellery quarter
We made it then, with skill and wonder
We make it still - something to treasure
Dig a bit deeper down in your pockets
Find the odd copper
and maybe we’ll keep it
and clap your hands,
and jump for joy
It’s ancient and modern
treasure from Mercia
Unforgotten
treasure from Mercia
© Adrian Johnson
October 2009