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.
wode
A Special Sumbel Toast to Odin
It’s been nearly three months since I last posted sumbel toasts to this blog. The previous ones were short, two stanza toasts. This time, I present a longer, more formal toast in honor of Odin. It is the sort of thing that I write for the more elaborate sumbels that take place at large Asatru gatherings. It is written as a seven stanza ljóðaháttr drápa, with the final stanza ending in a galdralag couplet; the refrain is italicized. To make it more friendly to my readers, I have completely anglicized the spelling of the Norse names and words. I originally wrote it as part of a three round sequence of toasts; I may post the other two toasts at some point in the future. This is also a likely future audio recording.
The Skaldic Eagle 