Proud of Preston

[lorna]

This is poem is an address to the city of Preston written in the voice of Belisama, the goddess of the river Ribble and its vale, which won the Preston Guild Poetry Competition in 2012 and steered me in the direction of becoming a Bard.


Proud of Preston

Belisama:

Proud of Preston heed my entry
Hear the call of ancient memories
Hearts purloined by Roman sentries
Like a river shining bright.

Proud of Preston born free traders
Made by commerce and hard labour
Merchants gilded artists favored
Like the Brigantes warred in tribes.

Mechanics shift the scene of battle
Raise the red brick smog industrial
Cording hearts like twisting material
On the wheels of the cotton lords.

Step the Chartists to the engines
Pull the plugs release the tension
The rioters face the sentries
Dye the river dark with blood.

Grey arise the business faceless
Fake fulfillment for the faithless
Mass the market for the tasteless
Selling life for capital.

High in the stone fortress
The sentries hold their rule
Beyond the mall and office
Do you hear a river call?

Proud of Preston I have carved you
In my sweeping spirit formed you
Through your veins floods dazzling water
My Setantii shining bright.

Will you hearken to my entry
Drown false dreams in ancient memories
Will the proud of Preston
Like a shining river rise?

[potia]

That's powerful. I don't know Preston at all but I feel I get a sense of it through this. A city similar in many ways to Glasgow. Thanks for sharing.

[Chad]

I especially like the fifth stanza. It describes the United States as a whole. Excuse my moment! Anyway, great poem! I can see why this won the competition.