Like dragons from the sea they came
The Vikings earned their bloody name.
Marauding, murdering as they went
Their fury on these isles were spent.
At Lindifarne, they wreaked their worst
Far and wide their names were cursed.
Silver was their God -not gold
And none were spared not young or old.
All defences would be breached
None were safe where water reached
They grabbed their plunder and their slaves.
They proved their mastery of the waves.
Upon the tide they’d sail away
Their greed assuaged for one more day.
Out of the fjords -a chill wind blew
And many an innocent child they slew.
When York would fall -the king’s cruel death
From parted ribs his wings were spread…
The squall of seagulls overhead
The echoes of the long lost dead?
And looking out there from the coast-
That mist enshrouded haunt of ghosts
That image, on the crown-glass, might be
A fleet of longboats on the sea…