Arts & Sciences
Riddle XVI. An Anchor
Translated by J. Duncan Spaeth, Old English Poetry (Princeton University Press, 1921) · From Exeter Book Riddles (selection)
I war with the wind, with the waves I wrestle;
I must battle with both when the bottom I seek,
My strange habitation by surges o'er-roofed.
I am strong in the strife, while still I remain;
As soon as I stir, they are stronger than I.
They wrench and they wrest, till I run from my foes;
What was put in my keeping they carry away.
If my back be not broken, I baffle them still;
The rocks are my helpers, when hard I am pressed;
Grimly I grip them. Guess what I'm called.
Codex Note
One of roughly ninety riddles preserved in the Exeter Book; this is one of a further selection translated by J. Duncan Spaeth. The manuscript gives no solutions — titles here follow the translator's own guesses.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle XVI. An Anchor.” Translated by J. Duncan Spaeth, Old English Poetry. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/31/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Old English). “Riddle XVI. An Anchor.” Translated by J. Duncan Spaeth, Old English Poetry. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/31/.
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