Like many previous poems on this blog, today’s poem was written for ritual use. However, it is for a ritual that my readers might not have expected me to address: La Louche, the traditional method of preparing absinthe. Now, absinthe fans have a poem they can use along with the usual absinthiana of fountain, glass, and spoon.
Poems
Kaldidalur og Fyrir Íslensku Landvættirnar
About my recent four-week trip to Iceland, I could write a very long time. Here, I’ll briefly mention a particular spot connected to poetry that I got to see, which I had not expected. I got to see it on July 20, on a bus tour that stopped in Kaldidalur on the way between Þingvellir and Hraunfoss. I have a poem and a picture after the cut.
Toasts to Freyr and Other Beings
Today I present four more short sumbel toasts, one each to Freyr, the elves, the dwarves, and the landwights. All are in ljóðaháttr.
A Toast to Freyr
Hail Freyr,
a friend to all,
and lord of light and elves.
The bane of Beli
is a bringer of frith
we honor for excellent harvest.
Gerð’s husband
is gracious and kind,
that celebrated son of Njörð.
For peace and pleasure,
and prosperous seasons,
Hail to fruitful Freyr!
Audio for Valhalla
I’ve been in quite a mood for audio recording lately, and this is now the third week in a row for a recorded recitation. This time it’s for Valhalla, the text of which I posted back in late February.
Here is the downloadable file of me reciting the poem:
Eirik Westcoat – Valhalla
And here is the inline player:
Enjoy! Feel free to share the file. For details, see the Creative Commons link below.
This post is:
Copyright © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
All rights reserved.
The linked audio file of Valhalla is:
Copyright © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives License.
Audio for Sumartímadrápa
Here in Pennsylvania, summer has very much arrived in force, and in honor of that, I present an audio recording of my poem Sumartímadrápa.
Here is the downloadable file of me reciting the poem:
Eirik Westcoat – Sumartímadrápa
And here is the inline player:
Enjoy! Feel free to share the file. For details, see the Creative Commons link below.
This post is:
Copyright © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
All rights reserved.
The linked audio file of Sumartímadrápa is:
Copyright © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives License.
Audio for The Rúnatal
Four weeks after its posting as text, I now present an audio recording of my poetic translation of the Rúnatal, which is Hávamál stanzas 138-145. For those who seek after the runes, there is much essential lore in these eight stanzas.
Here is the downloadable file of me reciting the poem:
Eirik Westcoat – The Rúnatal
And here is the inline player:
Enjoy! Feel free to share the file. For details, see the Creative Commons link below.
This post is:
Copyright © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
All rights reserved.
The linked audio file of The Rúnatal is:
Copyright © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives License.
The Binding of Fenrir, Part 2
Now for the remaining seven stanzas of the Binding of Fenrir. Part 1 was posted last week.
Soft and smooth
like silken ribbon,
yet firm and fast as well:
The Æsir wished
the wolf to try
his strength against Gleipnir.
The Binding of Fenrir, Part 1
The Binding of Fenrir is another of the famous stories from Snorri’s Edda that does not have a corresponding form in verse in the Poetic Edda. Today I present the first half of my poetic retelling of this story, in seven stanzas of ljóðaháttr. Next week, I’ll post the remaining seven stanzas.
The ale of Ygg
I eagerly brewed,
and here I pour a poem.
Of Fenrir’s binding
and famous Týr,
that spell I speak to all.
The Rúnatal: A Poetic Translation
Now, for the first time on this blog, I am posting my own poetic translation of a short passage from the Poetic Edda. It is of Hávamál stanzas 138-145, which are sometimes called the Rúnatal, because they deal with Odin’s winning of the Runes. Regular readers may notice the rather odd stanza structure here. This portion of the Hávamál is rather irregular in the use of the long lines and full lines of the ljóðaháttr meter (and in stanza length), and I have followed the original pattern of lines rather than try to recast it into completely regular meter. Nonetheless, I have aimed to keep it poetic and alliterative at the expense of absolute literalness. I have tried to maintain consistency in the translation when possible. That is, when particular and important Old Norse words occur more than once in the passage, I try to translate them the same way each time. Man translates two different words, mann and þjóð, but I think it is better that way. In some cases, words were added that don’t have correspondences in the original for the sake of the meter, such as wyrd and mammoth in the first stanza. They are, however, quite appropriate for describing that tree. Translation always involves compromises, and it is at least as much art as science.
For nights all nine,
I know that I hung
on that wyrd and windy tree,
by gar wounded
and given to Odin,
myself to myself I gave,
on that mammoth tree
of which Man knows not
from where the roots do run.
In Praise of Summertime
Now that warmer days have finally arrived in earnest in the Northern Hemisphere (or at least the tiny part of it known as Pennsylvania), I present a poem in honor of Summertime. Like my previous poem in honor of Wintertime, it is a drápa of ten stanzas in fornyrðislag.
The poem is called “Sumartímadrápa.” (The name is in Old Norse, and simply means “Summertime drápa.)
This song I brewed
with sweetest honey
to celebrate summer
and sun’s bright light.
I made this mead
with mirth today,
to fill the folk
with frolic and joy.
The Skaldic Eagle 