Guess a Riddle, Now You Must . . .
Essay and Poem
A few years ago I read a book on Anglo-Saxon poetry and was surprised to learn that many of the poems that have come down to us are riddles. The examples in the book were so mysterious that I would never have guessed them from the clues: whales riding whitecaps, combs of bone, red flames trapped in coal.
Reading the book inspired me to create a riddle of my own. It’s very short: an octosyllabic couplet followed by a heptasyllabic one. The answer can be found under the illustration. After reading it, please share your thoughts on riddles and/or Anglo-Saxon poetry. . . And if you have a riddle of your own, do tell?
Riddle
What forms a cloud that no wind blows, has legs but neither feet nor toes, often crawls, but cannot stand, grasps and grabs but has no hand?
O, this riddle is wonderful!
Nicely done! I guessed a swarm of bees, but that didn't quite fit... I love the old riddles and kennings, though they are usually so obscure I need help figuring out what they refer to. They're not just poetic, they're a secret code ;-)