1.Voluspo
2.Ginnungagap
3.Allfather
4.The Feathered Consort
5.Hammer on Hammer
6.Wolf Unchained
7.The Perfect One
8.Trickster (and the Mistletoe)
9.Cornucopia
10.The Navigators
11.Guardian's Watch
12.Ithavoll
2.Ginnungagap
3.Allfather
4.The Feathered Consort
5.Hammer on Hammer
6.Wolf Unchained
7.The Perfect One
8.Trickster (and the Mistletoe)
9.Cornucopia
10.The Navigators
11.Guardian's Watch
12.Ithavoll
VOLUSPO
Ek man jötna ár of borna
Þá er forðum mik fædda höfðu
Níu man ek heima, níu íviðjur
Mjötvið mæran fyr mold neðan
Ár var alda, þar er Ymir byggði
Var-a sandr né sær né svalar unnir
Jörð fannsk æva né upphiminn
Gap var ginnunga, en gras hvergi
I remember yet the giants of Yore
Who gave me bread in the days gone by
Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree
With mighty roots beneath the mould
Of old was the age when Ymir lived
Sea nor cool waves nor sand, there were
Earth had not been, nor heaven above
But a yawning gap and grass nowhere
GINNUNGAGAP
This first and elemental flesh
Both man and woman falls awake
From void and darkness, frost and flame
From sleeping Ymir, a world to make
The wordless voice, the scream, the howl
Pure essence fills new Earth and Sky
Ancestral form of myth and legend
Giants, Gods, to glorify
Father, Mother, to them all
The bleak betrayal comes to pass
As daughters, sons, bad families
Are cut from stone to break like glass
I dream of spaces, emptiness
Deserts golden, endless dome
Dome of blue with white clouds scudding
Folded origami home
Home to all creation
Vistas of foreign lands. We conjure ghosts
Of pre-birth state, primal recall
The calm amongst the heavenly hosts
ALLFATHER
Allfather, how can we help you?
How can we bring you wondrous notions?
Allfather, how do we read you?
How do we will you godly emotions?
Eye for a lie, tooth for a truth
Hang from the branches, above the well
Nine days pass in the blink of one eye
One eye in heaven, the other in hell
Allfather, learn from the symbols
Born in these waters, a gift for the giving
To others who fawn at the feet of the master
And bathe in the presence, the dead and the living
The heavy door closed with a thud
The vast and book-lined hallowed halls
Sucks me in with endless breath
With steady heartbeats to install me
At the gate of all there is
And all there was, as best we know
From pen to paper, man to child
The gift of learning's afterglow
Afterglow
Afterglow
Allfather
THE FEATHERED CONSORT
Feathered consort, woven fronds maternal
Silken, shining, light the day
With her whispered promises of passion
Fertile joining, fashioned clay
Like distant Venus, so seductive
Smoothing her scent on boys and men
To make them whole and leave them smiling
Thinking of her now and then
They raise her up to sit at heaven's portal
To suckle babes, ripen anew
While second self, the sultry Frеya
Rides behind her cats, grеy and blue
Wicked diva, cool mug-magnet
The sulky, saucy temptress lights
Another lip-stained cigarette
And turns her face to show the whites
Of eyes like torches, piercing, steely
Thin, grey smoke, a coiling plume
Paris showgirl, headdress cast
Aside in tawdry dressing room
HAMMER ON HAMMER
Was there a time when I was Jupiter
Ringed like Saturn, with sacred belt?
Anvil sweating under blows
Hammer on hammer, cold steel to smelt
Coiled serpent, silently waiting
Takes the bait I place beneath
The darkened deeps so far from shore
Line cut, dagger to sheath
Stage must be set for mortal battle
Völva prophesy fufilled
At Ragnarök, gory conclusion:
Drowning world to raise, rebuild
Vlad, the bad, seethes and schemes
An empire past he must renew
Tough man in waiting, stares at me
At White Nights, 1992
Sabres rattle, pipelines tremble
Wasted opportunity
To build a better motherland
A nobler place in history
The darkened deeps so far from shore
Line cut, dagger to sheath
Stage must be set for mortal battle
Völva prophesy fufilled
At Ragnarök, gory conclusion:
Drowning world to raise, rebuild
Was there a time when I was Jupiter
Ringed like Saturn, with sacred belt?
WOLF UNCHAINED
From out the marsh with jaws agape
And angry howls, the wolf does run
All set to roam and havoc make
Amongst the nine worlds of the sun
But soft as silk, strong fetters fixed
To calm, restrain the rage awhile
Invite the hand between sharp teeth
To prove good faith, to reconcile
The bond unbroken, trickery
Could not prevent the savage bite
And free at last with jaws against
The ground and sky, the final fight
Curled at my feet in sleep, Tervueren
Malinois or Groenendael
A shepherd's friend, unfеttered loyalty
Sweet devotion natural
Drеaming of a wilder past
A wilder bark, the howl, the growl
Soft limb to tear and bone to grind
The postman corpse to disembowel
THE PERFECT ONE
He smiles, beguiles, and occupies
A perfect placid sacred space
Enthrals all those who gaze, admire
And, fascinated, beg his grace
Bold but blessed with calm resists
Well armoured, turns aside all harm
Directed at his sweet perfection
Bathed in gentle lights to charm
All but one who, seizing
Opportunity, devises dark
And cunning deed to snuff the candle
Put an end to vital spark
Ken and Joe, Joe and Andy
Frank and George, and Joe and Trav
Fatal friends, fatal attraction
To a rough Adonis, havе
A dark, sad commonality
All hero worship, bit of rough
Frail bond to stretch to breaking point
A point distillеd from stronger stuff
TRIKSTER (AND THE MISTLETOE)
What is this spear of mistletoe
That flies like dart from brother's hand?
Seemed innocent, a prank misfired
The great shapeshifter, fire-brand
Two-faced fool, the jester bold
Grasps at opportunities
To turn his coat, self-satisfy
And go wherever he might please
Little giant, skin so thick
Can hold the fate of all his kin
With treachery, duplicity
Behind the wide, engaging grin
The class clown sits in back of class
Throws paper darts, blot paper balls
To bounce off heads of swots like me
Provokе a fight when lunch break calls
His tiresomе japes, the prods and pokes
The never-lasting friendships made
Bring only our feigned approval
Soon resigned to trusts betrayed
CORNUCOPIA
The barley grows and ripened, feeds
The hungry souls who toil and sweat
They gather to give thanks and praise
For wealth and peace, repay the debt
I make for them a bounty
To reward the pains of honest men
Ask only for their loyal faith
In planting seeds to sprout again
My sister joins the happy throng
To dance and sing with all who care
To lie with her in soft repose
Gold diadem in golden hair
Summer sounds of combine wheezing
On the top fields, by the lane
Which winds down rutted tracks to sleepy
Barns, the dryer for thе grain
Farmer eyes fixеd on the headlands
Dazzled by the dipping sun
Which lights the corners of her eyes
The farmer's wife, we lie as one
THE NAVIGATORS
Feet fixed firm on windswept headland
Far above the raging sea
Lord of all the stormy deeps
The wealth of ages at his knee
Protects and nurtures navigators
Raiders bold who loot and plunder
Giving strength to hold at bay
The tallest wave, the savage thunder
Then, to bring them home again
Safe to revel in their fame
With tales of valour, harsh and virile
Treasures taken in Gods' names
Crab pots stacked, fat diesel straining
At the white and foam-flecked wave
Echo sounding, seaman rounding
Dark mull skirts a watery grave
Which calls to lure brave navigators
Who venture far from harbour home
Burning with that lust of feisty
Fisher-folk who live to roam
Feet fixed firm on windswept headland
Far above the raging sea
Lord of all the stormy deeps
The wealth of ages at his knee
Protects and nurtures navigators
Raiders bold who loot and plunder
Giving strength to hold at bay
The tallest wave, the savage thunder
Then, to bring them home again
Safe to revel in their fame
With tales of valour, harsh and virile
Treasures taken in Gods' names
GUARDIAN'S WATCH
The Guardian stands above the plain
Surveys the path to rainbow bridge
Keen-eyed stares t'wards middle world
From high upon that castle ridge
With trumpet drawn to warn of first
Approach of those who might intrude
He hears the sound of grass a-growing
Senses keen, a quiet étude
Before the giants come to call
The rage of final battle locked
With flaming sword and serpent venom
Revelation, Ragnarök
Mae West, helmet, Mk VIII goggles
'Chute at ready on the wing
Young men sprint to action, answer
Jarring scramble bell's harsh ring
Gear up, climbing, Merlin roaring
Bandits one-five, sounds the cry
Chime of destiny sends aloft
Virgin guardians of the sky
ITHAVOLL
Sé ek upp koma öðru sinni
Jörð ór ægi iðjagræna
Falla forsar, flýgr örn yfir
Sá er á fjalli fiska veiðir
Finnask Æsir á Iðavelli
Ok um moldþinur máttkan dæma
Ok minnask þar á megindóma
Ok á Fimbultýs fornar rúnar
Þar munu eptir undrsamligar
Gullnar tö ur í grasi nnask
Þærs í árdaga áttar höfðu
Now do I see the Earth anew
Rise all green from the waves again
The cataracts fall and the eagle flies
And catches fish beneath the cliffs
The gods in Ithavoll meet together
In wondrous beauty once again
Shall golden tables stand mid the grass
Which the gods have owned in the days of old
