Poem 1038 – Dada Recollects (The Ballad Of The Wake cont.)

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Arriving home the King rejoiced
To see Dada again.
It wasn’t his gift that made him glad,
His absence had made him sore and sad,
He was one of the finest he’d ever had,
A man of honour and fame.

‘Welcome home, the finest of knights,
Prepare to tell your tale,
Pray tell us of the varied sights
You’ve seen as you’ve travailed!’

‘My Lord, I’ll gladly tell the truth
Of all I’ve seen and heard,
To all sat here beneath your roof,
Come, listen to my words.

By luck I made it to the Isle
Across our wooden path,
So many others lost meanwhile,
This march their very last.

‘Twas I and I alone that made
It to the rebels’ court,
Through swamp and water forced to wade,
And soldiers brave I fought.’

Dada begins to tell of his experiences with Hereward and the rebels.
(19.10.16)

© Ben Quant 2026

Poem 1037 – Seeking Amelia

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Whilst others fought for female freedom,
You took to flight triumphantly,
To prove the point that at a distance,
Male and female merge as one.
And whilst they search for signs of life,
Once lived then lost in dire disaster,
I like to think you rose above,
Our righteous world and flew beyond.
Lost in action, Amelia Earhart,
Famous female aviator.

Inspired by the hunt for Amelia Earhart after possible photographic evidence of her missing plane.
(18.10.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Smithsonian on Unsplash

Poem 1036 – These Stones

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Here angular arches stand, these ancient stones
That strive and stretch. Bare rock; arms steep and tall;
Grey faces faded; stained hard features smoothed
By time and tears. We softly talk then pause.
Eternal echoes ache and throb in endless
Coils that wrap around as gravity tolls
And eras interweave and inward fall.
Here all is altogether and one is all.

I’m currently reading Fiona Robertson’s ‘Stone Lands’ that explores the prehistoric monuments that stand scattered across our nation. I’ve always found such sites strangely magnetic and dense, as if they’re pins that pierce across the ages.
(17.10.26)

© Ben Quant 2026

Poem 1035 – Autumn Morning

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The alarm sounds, intruding the other world.
At first, resisting, I lie between two states,
An inhabitant of both and citizen of neither.
It’s dark, the autumn night still lingers.
Weary, I rise and stumble down the stairs,
Hiking into an undiscovered land.
Outside is not yet sharp, instead suggested,
An uncertain realm of possibility waiting
To be determined, sharpened by interaction.
I rub my eyes and seek to see the truth.
Slowly the darkness peels away
The spell of night is past, at last the day is come.

Waking today it was dark, the days are shortening.
(16.10.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash

Poem 1033 – Dada’s Tour (The Ballad of the Wake cont.)

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Having heard this soldier’s words
The rebels sang his praise,
They marked his bold audacity,
His valour and tenacity,
Inviting him to stay and see
And learn more of their ways.

They showed him their defences and
Their fortifications strong,
And companies of famous men,
Whose feats of arms protected them,
Regaling him with songs which lended
Glory to where they belonged.

And after this they sent him home
But first he swore an oath,
To only speak of what he saw,
The truth of what he heard no more,
Only what he perceived on their shores,
This was his solemn troth.

Impressing his captors, Dada is given a tour of the fenland defences.
(14.10.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Pelayo Arbués on Unsplash

Poem 1030 – Dada Explains Himself (The Ballad of the Wake cont.)

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‘Pray, Dada, tell us why you came,
With sword across the Fen?
What have we done to earn your blame,
Why come with armoured men?’

‘It is not you,’ the knight replied,
‘I see you not with ire,
The King promised the first to find
Their way across the mire,

And boldly land a blow upon
The rebels without care,
Could name a prize, some gift among
The treasures lying there.

And so I sought to prove myself
And demonstrate my courage,
By striving to achieve this wealth,
And never be discouraged.’

Dada explains his motivation for striving to Ely.
(11.10.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Image by Poliphilo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons