Page:Anglo-Saxon Riddles of the Exeter Book (1963).djvu/73

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    1. s57 ##

57 (K-D 16)

I war oft against wave    and fight against wind,
do battle with both,    when I reach to the ground,
covered by the waters.    The land is strange to me.
I am strong in the strife    if I stay at rest.
If I fail at that,    they are stronger than I
and forthwith they wrench me    and put me to rout.
They would carry away    what I ought to defend.
I withstand them then    if my tail endures
and the stones hold me fast.    Ask what my name is.

Anchor.

    1. s58 ##

58 (K-D 32)

Beautifully made    in many ways
is this our world,    cunningly adorned.
Marvelous is its motion,    I saw this device
grind against the gravel,    crying out as it went.
This marvelous thing    had no sight nor feeling,
neither shoulders nor arms.    One foot only
had this curious device    to journey along on,
to move over the fields.    It had many ribs,
its mouth was midway.    Useful to mortals,
it bears abundance    of food to the people,
brings them plenty    and pays to men
annual tribute    which all enjoy,
the high and the lowly.    Explain if you can,
who are wise in words,    what this thing may be.

It is a Ship. Its one foot is the keel; the rest is easy. The verbal repetitions are in the original. The first two lines are a formula, as