~ By Courtesy of Others ~
We are the ones who remember
We are the ones who remember
the hearth-fires that long have been cold,
the kings of the land, who with generous hand
gave forth treasures of silver and gold;
the heroes most mighty, most eager for fame,
who stood on the field when the battle-day came,
who fought for their folk and who slew and were slain --
and we are the ones who remember. . .
We are the ones who remember
the Gods who once shaped the Nine Worlds:
of Ymir's blood and bone they made sky, sea and stone;
sparks of flame in the heavens they hurled.
Then three Gods shaped men by the shores of the sea:
one shaped human forms from the trunks of two trees,
one gave breath, one gave wod, Askr and Embla stood free --
and we are the ones who remember. . .
We are the ones who remember
tales that tell of the time that shall be,
when a host, bold and fell, sails a ship out of Hel,
and a Wolf breaks his chains and runs free.
The Sun and the Moon will be torn from the sky,
the Serpent rise up, and the fires blaze on high.
Gods and men stand and fight, one by one they shall die --
and we are the ones who remember. .
© Ben Waggoner
Image: "Awe", © Jürgen Eilts, www.ShiftedReality.com