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~ By Courtesy of Others ~

 

Nine Nights - One Branch

One day I set out, to the well of Mimir,
To challenge the giant to a game of wits
I proved myself as wise as he,
But for a drink from his well of mead
A sacrifice he would need.
 
He looked at me, and smiled wide,
A gift of an eye, he asked with great pride
I reached up and yanked an eye from my head
And placed it on Mimirs holy stead

I wandered out, to find my way
To Yggdrasil’s great branches,
Where in Youth, I once did play
This night would not be one of fun and games
For my feet carried me up, with a rope and a blade

I found myself with noose well bound,
My spear was sharpened, no voice, no sound,
No hand was there to aid me, my own would have to do
I put the noose around my neck,
And from the branch I flew

I felt my feet falling down
Could not see light, nor the ground
The sounds of the tree all around
The pecking of birds
The smell from the mound

I looked above, my home far away
I tried to call out, but feared the rope would give way
I touched the tree and felt its bark
Living and dead it seemed to be
I hung and hung from the branch of the tree

The smell from the mound wafted into my nose
Of rotting corpse and dying rose
I could almost see Hel’s smirking face
As she saw me hanging in that windy place

I called out for food and thirsted for drink
But none was offered
I thought I might be dead
The pain that I felt, from the swelling in my head

I felt my hand grip the spear
And plunged it into my side
A sacrifice to the mighty tree
In hopes of secrets that would be given to me

With all my strength I reached out and grasped
The runic staves, in my hands at last
Twenty four symbols finally found
The rope did break and I fell into Hel’s great mound

For passage out, a son did give
In Hel’s embrace he would stay
I wandered out to Midgard’s plains,
Fresh with wounds and bloody staves;
I found the place where men do roam
And gave the runes their final home .

© Larisa C Hunter aka Mist, Gyðja of Kenaz Kindred

Author of "FULLTRÚI : Patrons in Ásatrú"

This work by Larisa C Hunter is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.kenaz.ca.

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