A Conversation in Hester Pit. 16 January 1862
By Ewan
- 2422 reads
Chokedamp
Ye cannit tell, ye nah.
Aye, Geordie, ee younguns
divvent mind the bord -
yellow feathas torned black -
singin’ ‘til it didn’t,
wuz’ve got wor lamps now.
Davy’s, not Stephenson’s.
No, wuh cannit tell,
the black dust has got
wuh number...
‘Coz,
hev’ yiz evah seen an old collier?
Nivver think it willent,
the stythe will gerrus all.
Whitedamp
Thiz lamps glowin’ brightah,
an’ a bit a’ the smell,
though willy lowe’s eggs
might could be off again,
or wuz’ve got bother.
Run doon the jenkin,
Geordie, hev a sniff
divvent tek yer lamp, eh?
gan on to the cage, Bobby,
ring the bell;
wek the fukken’ deputy.
Ah bet the bastard’s drunk
anyhow.
Collapse
did yis heeyah that?
Hevvint hoard a clattah
like thet since Billy Weir
fell doon the cellar
at the Black Bull
it wiz the barrels
fallin' after, thet
made the racket.
Firedamp
Wuh cannit breathe,
nee contraband doon here
nee matchuz, nowt,
but it duzzent mattah.
There’s nee firedamp
and it’ll be the wattah
or the stythe
that diz fer wuz
now.
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Comments
Good poem! Terrible story.
Good poem! Terrible story. Yes, I know at first in the old days they used a canary in a cage to warn the suspended coal dust air is going explosive, however I don't really understand the end here.
What is the accent is it Welsh? I find it hard to read.
Stay well! Mooi bly! Sala ghachle!
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What does he mean by
What does he mean by contraband in the last part?
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oh ok, thanks - I've been
oh ok, thanks - I've been reading about it (Hester Pit) on wikipedia
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it sounded awful Have you
it sounded awful Have you ever read Germinal by Zola?
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Heard the voice clearly in
Heard the voice clearly in my head - you wrote the accent so well. You have made a voice that sounds real, joking even as the air runs out
"now", like the whole poem was bringing us to this word and no way out of the dark
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This is our Poem of the Week
This is our Poem of the Week - Congratulations - and it's also our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day
Please share/retweet if you enjoyed it as much as I did
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