IN DICKENSIAN HAREN
(for Henk & the Dickens Library)
In Dickensian Haren
this curious day,
we are men with a careworn mission;
impersonators of ill fortune,
scraping our feet
through the back lanes of Groningen,
in search of the famous beard
and the dribble of trashed dreams.
We are reciting the great lines of Charles
on a stumbling Sunday
and we wonder why.
Why does the suffering go on?
The inequality of chance,
the dirty rhythm of brass
rattling in banks?
The Scrooge days
the days of mindless Self,
the selfish?
For Dickens is alive and vivid this minute,
Dickens is witness.
We slaver out our words,
whip out our tongues for the public
and wonder as we wander
through the pages of Nickleby and Hard Times
what men ever learn.
We go on to admire
the bound copies
in the sacred library,
toast a last one for Charlie Boy
and his mighty quill,
knowing that we’ll end up tucked on shelves
but never great,
just dust in the swollen stacks
of Mister Dickens.
But treasure the sunlight on this day,
worship the brilliant beer in the glass,
each second he told us
is precious.
He is modern in his self.
He is a star.
KEITH ARMSTRONG
THE PLOUGH/DE PLOEG
(for Haren 850)
We plough on,
bearing the years on our frail backs,
across wide fields,
wild with history.
We carry our paints
and canvases
over the grass,
in order to capture
a moment’s beauty.
We write it down,
we proud poets and local historians,
our vivid past makes our poems wiser.
There is an old bird
flying overhead,
above the windmill of dreams
its beak points towards the distant barn,
showing us where
the ancient wounds are.
We must suffer
over and over again,
850 times if necessary,
in order
to celebrate,
to be able
to dance
along this town’s
narrow streets,
teeming
with memories
of brutal wars,
deaths
and fresh births.
Show me some joyous flowers,
ring tunes on the bell,
and I will show you
the scars of battles.
But today
let us sing
in our old church,
play local hymns
on this fine organ.
With a death-defying love
of our great heritage,
we will feed our little children,
all the joy
in our heartfelt Haren lives.
KEITH ARMSTRONG
Haren is a town in the north east of the Netherlands located in the urban area of Groningen, the twin city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Library in Haren has a room decorated in Victorian style, the Dickens Room, where you will find a special collection of books by the writer Charles Dickens. This collection is owned by Keith Armstrong's friend Henk Muda.
Keith performed his specially commissioned poetry to mark the 850th anniversary of Haren in the Dickens Room at Haren Library on Friday 1st October 2010.
De Ploeg (in English: The Plough or The Group) is an artists collective from Groningen. The collective was established in 1918 by a group of young artists. Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman who was shot by the Gestapo for his resistance activities grew up and worked in Groningen and participated in The Plough.
