Child's Birdie Song

"Gabble, gabble little Crow
There is something we would know
For we don't see a reason why
You drop bad luck from out the sky

Silent strutting great big Raven
You seem to turn the brave to craven
We still don't know the reason why
You want to make the orphans sigh

Oh, Jackdaw you eat the dead
So you must have a heart of lead
We'll never know the reason why
You have eyes that never cry

Magpie you deceitful bird
Your voice is so often heard
You deserve to feel true grief
Because you are a wicked thief

So babble, babble all you birds
Though you do not speak in words
You bring omens from the sky
Yet we all know that we must die"

Sonnet: Climbing and Running and Playing and Dreaming and...

Young children played in fields about Old Lyng
They played upon the mudflats all about
With joyful voices you could hear them sing
In boisterous play you'd hear them laugh and shout
Young Aethelwulf and all his friends would roam
About that magic landscape on warm days
All of these mystic lowlands were there home
They would sometimes bask in the sun's warm rays
And climb the old ash tree up on the Mump
They'd sit in high up branches and they'd talk
On running home they'd play at skip and jump
Young boys it seems are rarely seen to walk
All loved to think of what one day they'd be
They were still young so they could still run free

Avalon

Avalon to the East of Lyng
Was a special place
There lay the past and future King
Who had been called to Grace
He sleeps there with his Lady fair
A guardian of our Land
Morchan's in the waters where
Her magic is at hand
The whole place has a Magic Ring
A music all its own
It's here all hear the song thrush sing,
Here no soul is alone
Small wading birds pace through the reeds
They tiptoe to and fro
Small fish hide between the weeds
There's more here than men know
There's spirits all about this place
Not spirits of the dead
But spirits in a state of Grace
Or so it has been said

Vengeance is Mine

Reeling then from happenstance
Battered by bad circumstance
Here they chose to languish not
None of the wrongs may be forgot

There will be no sad distress
No, nor rotting bitterness
No - there will be no writhing
Against what's done, they choose to sing

While they've been harmed by old past strife
They plan a future happy life
Yes, there's been some injury
Caused by much fickle tyranny

So what if life has turned bad
Damn it, they will not feel sad
They know what the past has cost
And how so much is gone and lost

They know about their attack
And they know that we may hit back
They choose to live by the sword
"Vengeance is mine", said the Lord.

There's Rosemary

There's Rosemary for remembering
The wrongs must be put right
The guilty will be trembling
From living with their fright

Hoth the Blind

Now Hoth was blind, dark and unkind
Though Balder was his twin
In deep recesses of his mind
He hid his urge to sin

All pity drove him on to hate
He cursed his sightless eyes
He loathed the foul deceit of fate
And so he lived by lies

So he learned to put on a smile
Put "Kindness" in his voice
When young he'd learned the art of guile
One day he would rejoice

Both gods and men he learned to use
Deceit was his fine art
His life was counter-move and ruse
He lived without a heart

An actor on the stage was he
His role he knew full well
And he so hid his inner glee
As he sent men to Hel

When tears flowed from his sightless eyes
How he put on a show
About his crimes he told sweet lies
There are so few who know

Who know how he is dark within
Who have felt his cold hate
The victims of each wicked sin
Know his stark soul - too late

This god of darkness hates all light
He hates all who can see
Few living victims of his spite
Survive now or are free

They know how he can hide behind
His eyes that saw no light
He hides that spirit so unkind
He hides his wicked spite

In victory there is certainty
We know who won and lost
We know who gains the sovereignty
We don't know at what cost!

Ebb and Flow

The ebb and flow of wrath and woe
The hate that sows its seed
In righteousness each kill their foe
The young and good must bleed
Those who survive their hearts are marred
So they will then strike back
With souls that have turned cold and hard
They plan each sneak attack
Away with righteousness right now
Away with each excuse
Let us all make this simple vow
Not to let hatred loose.

Sonnet: Child's Play

There was a spirit, it dwelled in that tree
For there are spirits in all things that breathe
And there is much that young children may see
But as they grow up they cease to believe
Spirits and fairy folk are all around
In the heart of the child there is true glee
And everything's new with each shade and sound
And there is true joy when they may run free
Mists of mock mysteries swirl all round, about
In play you may die then get up once more
Then rampage, romp and scurry there about
Playing children do what's been done before
Trees and their spirits live longer through time
Yet they are there for each young child to climb

Sonnet: Child's Play

Gaily young children can play every game
Joyfully boisterous they romp in the field
Through much of history it has been the same
Who believes happiness should be concealed?
Joyful exuberance in every child
Helps the young grow to be formed and complete
Though some may grow wild and some may grow mild
All start as babies that most see as sweet
Adolescents though may cause us some woe
Be awkward and shy or ever ask "Why?"
Yet so constant the change as the young grow
No longer the need for sweet lullaby
Starting the journey from cradle to tomb
Should not be years that are blighted by gloom

"These Christian curs had done such harm
They blasphemed Asgard's host
So go seek out each magic charm
And yearn to kill the most

While wisdom is not for the young
A few gain it with age
Most of the dead they are unsung
They're not on history's page

They sowed their seed in women foe
Put young Danes in each womb
These Christians have caused our past woes
Now with our bairns they'll bloom

With bairns all lives can be made sweet
Each mother is as Fri
Like earth gives birth to what we eat
With bairns no line need die

Odhinn had sired Dear Fri's twin boys
The Gods of Dark and Light
As mothering brings us most our joys
We know our gods are right!"

The Stream From the Holy Well

The stream seems to chuckle
As it flows round the stones
The foal starts to suckle
'Neath pine with its cones

The waters flowed here
Through the aeons of time
The wagtails appear
And seem in their prime

While water weeds wave
In the currents below
The Wagtails won't brave
The stream's deepest flow

They'll feed by the edge
Or by every stone
Then flee to their hedge
When they're not alone

There's moths on the bark
Of the lofty pine tree
There's a song of the Lark
It's good to be free

Events are Confusing

It's not for us to understand
The way that things work out
Whether we're so full of faith
Or deeply rift by doubt

Our understanding's not complete
Despite how hard we try
Events are never really neat
So still confused we sigh

The Ash Tree

They sat in the ash tree
On top of the Mump [10]
They dared one another
To swing or to jump

They rolled down hill
Ran back up again
It was all such a thrill -
They weren't grown up men

Some times they would sit there
And talk half a day
In a life without care
All children will play

That magic old ash tree's
Long gone from the Mump
And an old man will wheeze
And feel his heart thump

More Trees

That ash tree had stood
Near for many a year
Cut down for its wood
There was a stump here

All things have their day
All things have their worth
Then stumps rot away
Returning to earth

Yet, more trees will grow
They'll sprout from the ground
There's so much to know
As time turns around

More children will climb
This new growth of trees
So they in their time
May play as they please

Nan's Fairy Song

"Now there are fairies in each glade
They're by each tree and brook
Some dwell beneath the ash tree's shade
You'll see them if you look

The young and old may see the fey
But only if we're kind
There are grown men who talk to them
But they have lost their mind

Beware the fairy folk please do
And don't go to their hall
For they may play such tricks on you
That you could cry and bawl

Content yourself to watch the fey
But do not heed their speech
Then you'll come home at end of day
And not be out of reach

The fairy king he likes young maids
Yes he likes having them
And where a maid has gone with him
No maid comes back again

The fairy queen she has tirades
Each time a flower's lost
She scolds the king with oaths so grim
But wenches bear the cost

The children who may come by chance
Can be blamed on the fey
Ah, wench you've led a merry dance
When you romped in the hay"

Aneirin and the Bards [11]

"Aneirin wrote an elegy
To each of his dead friends
At Catraeth through their strategy
His people's history ends

When all of the Gododdin fell
Their names would not be lost
Aneirin in his verses tell
Of his people's holocaust

The Angel host behind each shield
Had withstood their attack
That firm shield wall that did not yield
Each stag fell to the pack

There Ida's line [12] from Bamburgh Head
Established dominance
From Catraeth where the soil's soaked red
Those Angles would advance

The lonesome bard was left to write
Gododdin's elegy
The soul survivor of that fight
A dismal destiny

So sadly then this bard would roam
Lamenting his dead friends
And how his Briton's lost their home
The story never ends

The Briton's blood, the Briton's soil
Had been merged into one
Their children would be left to toil
As slaves to those who won

But are those Angles known by name
Those men who won that fight
Without a Bard to sing their name
They have been lost from sight

The Angles had some power then
To dominate that land
Yet Bard's words are remembered when
Old Glories turn to sand

Each elegy Aneirin wrote
Describes a long dead man
He does not rant he does not gloat
Of chaff before a fan

For each one seems a close dear friend
And fit for sad lament
And now their fame may have no end
Bard's words do not relent

The Poet and the Bard are here
To keep the dead alive
Defeated peoples find some cheer
Where their great deeds survive

A conquest by a stronger foe
Whose names are lost in time
Will let the future's children know
All conquests are a crime

For Peoples and their lands are one
United, blood and place
Despite all of the wrongs been done
Defeats and past disgrace

Gododdin are still in this land
As stubbornness still shows
They've mingled through time's flowing sand
As onward their line goes

At Catraeth British warriors died
The Bard has told their tale
Though widows and their orphans cried
Their bloodline did not fail

The blood line's here and it stays strong
It's here within this land
Despite who's right, despite who's wrong
There are new Bards at hand

Aneirin wrote of real things
All Bards should do the same
When of the past the singer sings
Old heroes live again"

Fri Cried

Her soul though full of joy and life
Her children fought and died
Throughout the turmoil and the strife
Earth Mother lay and cried

She cried the rivers and the sea
She cried the falling rain
She sighed the gales that bend each tree
She sighed through all her pain

She had done nought to cause this pain
Her bounty she gave true
Earth Mother though she bears our bane
And she's so good to you

Jesus Wept

Child Jesus walked the world of men
For he came to bring Grace
His is here in each hill and fen
In every smiling face
But though he's tried throughout the years
Who has cared to listen
And so his eye's they weep salt tears,
In the sun they glisten
This one son of the one true God
Has died to save each soul
It was upon this world he trod
So that each could be whole

Fri Sought a Pledge

In Asgard Fri had felt that Fate
Projected Balder's end
And though she tried it was too late
To Hel he would descend

She sought a promise from all things
She gave to each a charm
That neither blow nor thrown from sling
They could cause Balder harm

But ivy there beneath Fri's feet
Was mute in silent awe
Her promise it did not repeat
And this Lord Loki saw

In conversation Loki told
The dark Lord Hoth this fact
Though Hoth he had a heart that's cold
Lord Loki had no tact

The Light of Jesus

When Jesus brought light to the world
Foul men would snuff it out
Then Satan's banner was unfurled
For his foul gift was - doubt
The light of faith may guide all to
Sweet respite for the soul
Foul doubt may leave us all to rue
In Hell we pay the toll
The light is there that all may see
The works of our good Lord
And Christ is there to set us free
There can be no discord

Heart and Mind

The restless heart will sigh again
The restless heart will mope
And all of us can feel the strain
Or some of us lose hope

The wandering mind may soar again
The wandering mind may cope
Then none of us need feel the strain
And none of us need mope

For wandering minds will find new ways
As they seek new insight
While wandering to the end of days
They'll take us to the height

The heart may soar with hope and faith
Or seek to love and care
And sometimes haunted by a wraith
May slump into despair

Then restless hearts will cry again
And restless hearts lose hope
The mind is there to bear the strain
The mind is there to cope

But restless minds may sigh again
And restless minds may mope
And all of us can feel the strain
And some of us lose hope

Then faithful hearts may soar again
Then faithful hearts may cope
Then none of us need feel the strain
And none of us need mope

For faithful heart and wandering mind
May well be poles apart
No matter what new thoughts we find
We do all need a heart

Pre-destiny and Choice

Things are just as they are
Each ought do what they can
Some say fate's in the hand's of God
And not the hands of man

Things are just as they are
Some will do what they do
They may think they're the hands of God
And right when they wrong you

When deadly deeds are done
All ought do what they can
For fate's not all the hand of God
Pre-destined in a plan

Free will is there as well
In much of what we do
That's our fate from the hands of God
To choose is up to you

To have choice is our fate
Each must do what they can
Free choice is from the hands of God
Pre-destined in a plan

Pre-destined then to choose
We should not make a fuss
Some may think they're the hand of God
And right when they wrong us

To have choice is not bad
Nor good beyond our ken
Badness is not the hand of God
But wrong choices of men

Now what will be will be
So when we right a wrong
We may think we're the hand of God
And justice makes us strong

But who are we to judge
Each must do what they can
Justice is in the hands of God
And we don't know his plan

For as we right a wrong
New wrongs we may well do
Vengeance is in the hands of God
It's just not up to you

Things are just as they are
Each should do what they can
Some say fates in the hands of God
And not the hands of man

So predestined to choose
With choice our destiny
We don't know if we win or lose
So what will be will be

Spoiled Children

The spoiled child may rant
The spoiled child may scream
Spoiled men are underhand
And they will plot and scheme

The spoiled man must win
The spoiled man must rule
No matter how they sin
No matter they're a fool

From ranting through to schemes
From screaming through to reigns
They'll trample on your dreams
And get joy from your pains

They're psychopaths within
And they were made that way
When parents just gave in
To have an easy day

When spoiled children rant
When spoiled children rage
It's time to say "You can't"
Don't make them centre stage.

Narcissus Flowers

Down there by where the small stream flows
It's damp and shady too
That's where the wild Narcissus shows
Its sunny yellow hue

Its face looks down t'wards the ground
Its leaves all look upright
There bumble bees will buzz around
Through dappled rays of light

So seeming shy it flowers there
Within the semi-shade
Narcissus does not have a care
Nor debts that must be paid

Narcissus is a flower, that's all,
Within a habitat
And sorrow does not come to call
For flowers don't feel that

If pain and sorrow is in us
We can't externalise
Plants aren't a part of all our fuss
In time we may be wise

The Rich Men

The great men in their splendour
Each with a great estate
Forget life's thread is slender
Forget the hand of Fate

The Will of God's forgotten
Some are puffed up with pride
Such fools are misbegotten
And easily swept aside

New men may rise to splendour
And gain a grand estate
The strong are rarely tender
And may be held in hate

So great men in your splendour
Each with your great estate
Remember to be tender
Before it is too late

Ivy Seeds

The Ivy sets its seeds deep in
The winter of the year
Its seeds it hides not through its sin
Nor through its lack of cheer

It grows upon a tomb or tree
It grows on graves and wall
Its spirit will not yet be free
Because of Balder's fall

The Holly is green all year too
But does not share the shame
The ivy is now left to rue
What Hoth did to its name

Blackthorn Blossoms

The blackthorn is flowering
Its blossoms are white
The petals are showering
They bring such delight

The paths and the roadsides
Are sprinkled with white
But nothing abides
All passes from sight

The hedges go green
When white blossoms gone
But they're verdant and sheen
So let's not feel wan

Power

So over lording thugs decree
That what they do is right
And so few men can now be free
Some cringe before this might

Betrayal and deceit are here
For weak men can't attack
This constant struggle brings no cheer
The strong must watch their back

Ivy Flowers

The ivy's in flower
It's covered in bees
In the afternoon hour
As we take our ease

While these nights are chill
The days are so fine
And bees can't be still
For ivy's a sign

Last flow'rs of the year
The last nectar flow
The cold's creeping near
And warm joys will go

Ivy flowers done
And with no more bees
The cold will have won
No more out door ease

Ivy honey's here
So clear and so pure
The best of the year
So cold has a cure

Sonnet: The Gale

There's flurries of leaves that fly on the gale
And dark clouds above as some crows fly by
Tops of the trees seem to whip and to flail
A tormented scene against the dark sky
The seeds of the ash now fly from the tree
Leaves dance along the base of the wall
Those elms seem to thrash so torturously
While plaintive is heard a lonesome bird's call
Winter's not here though it won't be long yet
The sun though it glows now brings little heat
And there in the storm, the rain and the wet
With mud on the knees the ankles and feet
There walking below some may not see Winter
Where boughs of old elms silently splinter

Butterflies in October

Butterflies in October
The nectar's flowing still
The mind becomes quite sober
As late warmth brings a thrill

The butterflies may soon die
When nectar's flow soon ends
In the winter months we'll sigh
We'll miss these lovely friends

Go Traumatise a Child

Go traumatise a child
And twenty years from now
A raging man who's wild
May well fulfil a vow

The problem is, of course,
In twenty years more time
The deeds may well be worse
For sick minds sink in slime

A little wrong done now
May fester long within
We cannot foretell how
Each child repays a sin

Verthandi - the Place Where You Are

Is there a scent on the breeze?
Do I hear music afar?
Is there a place to be at ease?
Yes, it's the place where you are

Do I smell sweetness of you?
Do I hear the truth or ruse?
Are all of these feelings quite true?
It's up to me here to choose

I sense a future unknown
I sense what might well soon be
Though the future cannot be known
It's real enough here for me.

Yes, there's that scent on the breeze
Yes, there is music afar
Soon we may well both be at ease
There in the place where you are

Whirligig of Change

There's a series of things,
A chain of events
That flows from cause to consequence.
These can be put straight down to chance
Or blamed upon mere happenstance
And some may say with sad laments
That Satan set the circumstance
Although we're vexed, well, maybe
From chaos and complexity
About the way that things may go
And where they'll lead us who can know.
As consequence becomes new cause
Events flow on without a pause
For they seem linked like endless chain
That rattles along and past again
As in a gapless seamless dance
We're driven on by hapless chance
A whirligig of spirals flow
And where they'll take us
Who can know?
Yes - there's a series of things
A chain of events
That runs 'tween cause and consequence...

Random Chance?

Random chance and happenstance
Or things beyond our ken
Lead us on a merry dance
That may be ended when

Through happenstance or random chance
Or from a little lie
Or may be by some circumstance
Things happen, and we die

The Norns

There's chaos and corruption
The Norns aren't foul or sweet
We cause our own destruction
There's chaff amongst the wheat
The cosmos may have order
It's there for us to find
There should be no marauder
Within a tranquil mind
Amid the whirling chaos
The Norns can see the way
So where can be the loss
Upon the final day

Tangled Webs

The spider is weaving
Its gossamer twine
It glints in the rays
Of this lovely sunshine
The flies may be heaving
As they end their days
Soft hearts may be grieving
But spiders must dine
And it's folly that pays
So everything's fine
The thrush eats the spider
From out of its web
But there's no decider
All's flow and all's ebb
As a cat kills the thrush
And the cat too will die
So who's in a rush
To understand why
New spiders are weaving
Their gossamer twine
They glint in the rays
Of more lovely sunshine
The spiders and flies and cats must be fed
And all in the end go on to be dead

Sonnet: Ivy the Evergreen

Ivy the evergreen dwells with the dead
In graveyards it covers much of the ground
Grows on old tombstones so they can't be read
In the dark woods it grows all around
Ivy the evergreen dwells in the shade
It chokes the young trees that seek out the light
Yet it shies away from each sunny glade
Deep in its being it carries a blight
When Balder was killed by his brother Hoth
And all the gods called out in sheer alarm
As Tyr [18] yelled so in great rage and great wrath
Mother Fri wept as she'd failed in her charm
This bad tale of Hoth then was soon full run
As Balder's blind twin was killed by his son [19]

Elite's Up Above

Elites are there up above
The people are here down below
Few rulers will rule through love
But most can put on a show

So the people will get on with life
For there is too much to do
With leaders all hell bent on strife
Steer clear they may come for you

Empty Glee

There may be glee and pleasure,
Joy, lust, in equal measure
But like a stringless lute -
Some boughs bear no fruit

Sleeping Dormouse

White clover by the roadside
Cow parsley in the grass
The Dormouse in its hide
Asleep 'til day is past

An adder statue still
Close to the sleeping mouse
All's ready for the kill
When will the victim rouse

But in the chill of night
The reptile's forced to rest
Whilst life is full of fright
Dormouse can leave its nest

Then with return of day
Dormouse is safe again
Its dreams were full of fright
Twitching deep in its den

Thane and the Freeman Smith

"Remember no freeman is free
Remember that they must be paid
That smith has sworn no oath with me
So I cannot demand his aid

A Thane from Bernicia like I
A refugee from pagan Dane
Am sworn to Wessex 'til I die
And their king treats me like a Thane

That smith's work is based on men's needs
He must buy food to feed his kin
We can't expect great noble deeds
In his old trade there is no sin"

Berserker

The Berserkers are full of rage
They work themselves into this state
You do not have to be a sage
The secret answer is to wait

Ignore them when they scream and shriek
And at that time do not turn back
When rage wares off it leaves them weak
And at that time we may attack

Ghost of a Little Girl

The little Girl died in his grasp
Though not a word was said
He holds her still, hears her last gasp
- Sad memory in his head -

He held her dying on that day
Wanted to save her life
As Death will have the final say
His soul was torn by strife

For, "If only", "Oh, If only."
Repeat around his brain
In a soul now sad and lonely
He bore a bitter stain

Oh, if only he had stopped her
Running into that road
His conscience tells him he's a cur
He had to bear that load

For on the day that She had died
His actions were too slow
Time and again he's sobbed and cried
About that fatal blow

"Watch out" he'd said - not in her tongue
She'd run out all the same
He never heard her requiem sung
And never knew her name

He'd held her on that roadside there
He did not know her folk
He has a stain that none can share
It almost makes him choke

And then at night deep in his sleep
In dreams he meets this child
And she looks sad if to weep
Her ghost's serene and mild

Are souls of those who have died young
Like angels of the Lord
And in our dreams are we among
A sort of heavenly horde?

Are we shown glimpses of a place
Beyond the void of Hate
Where there may be a state of Grace
Beyond the grasp of Fate

The Dead who flit about our dreams
May help us in our woe
They're not as real as waking schemes
Yet bring a gentle glow

Through sorrows we may face each blight
Protected by their charm
These dead who visit in the night
May guard the mind from harm

Grieve and Grieve

You grieve and grieve and in your mind
You're torn by all the strain
You weep and weep and then you find
That you must weep again

Chorus
The patterns that are working through
The chaos of events
They're never really quite in view
So nothing now makes sense

Violent forces may attack
When you are quite at ease
A rage may then make you strike back
But gives grief no release

Chorus

It's not for us to understand
The way that things work out
Whether we are so full of faith
Or deeply rift with doubt

Chorus

The smiles of a grieving man
The tears of a clown
Now understand just what you can
Before your sun goes down

Chorus

Our understanding's not complete
Despite how hard we try
Events are never really neat
So still confused we cry

Chorus

So cry and cry until your mind
Gets some release from pain
And by and by you may soon find
You'll start to live again

The patterns that are working through
The chaos of events
Are never really clear to view
So little will make sense

The Small Feast

Alliterated verses ran
Along each line of song
Some sang of God some sang of men
With voices clear and strong
Their culture was so rich and deep
From Beowulf to this time
Some times they'd laugh, sometimes they' weep
They'd sing of good and crime
Pagans would take away all this
Oh, that must not be so
They'd rob us too of heavenly bliss
They're such a heathen foe

Parody of Caedmon's Hymn [22]

"Praises now we all should sing
To the kingly lord in heav'n
Creation's just a little thing
That he made in days seven
All beginnings he has made
His intentions are concealed
His miracles will never fade
And through them he's revealed
Men in midgard [23] see the sky
He placed as roof above their place
And in faith none need question why
Guardian giver of all Grace
Ground below men's feet he made
Keeper of all Christian men
Foul pagan men he has forbade
The good must take the sword to them"

Aethelwulf's Prayer of Remorse

"Oh Christ Dear Lord, what have I done?
You say I must not kill
I am now but a sinful son
And me heart feels so chill"

From Joy to Nemesis

Sing a song of discontent
His heart had learned of hate
His seething will not now relent
It is his gift from fate

It flows now through his every vein
And glistens through his skin
I don't know how they can complain
Those who did this to him

Now tense and coiled like a spring
They have him in their place
And if they do the slightest thing
He may tear off a face

So sing a song of merriment
For those who taught him hate
Too late they cannot now repent
He is their gift from fate

And when his rage erupts in there
He may kill one or two
And some of us will stand and stare
As things turn black and blue

He then forgot the holy book
He wanted them to die
And mutely some will stand and look
And watch the blood stains dry

So sing a song of merriment
At those who taught him hate
Too late they cannot now relent
For they had earned this fate

Bully Boys and Bully Men

Now tyranny may be quite near
Sometimes it runs a kingly state
Or may lurk like some shady fear
On pathways near the wicker gate

Now those who must be in control
And always seek to dominate
May sap all hope from some poor soul
Or turn fear into sheer pure hate

Now thugs are the first one to cry
When victims turn and strike them back
With weepy words they wonder why
They're hurt in a counter-attack.

Small tyrannies are ever near
Though sometimes they may run a state
More often they are lurking near
They seem to be part of our fate

April Greenery

Now this late April greenery
Prepares the way for May
Gone's that stark winter scenery
Here on this sunny day

There's blossoms on the cherry trees
The grass is growing fast
This Springtime beauty's here to seize
Before the moment's past

The seasons twirl about through time
But Springtime keeps us young
Forgot is all the Winter grime
As blackbird's song is sung

The April woods seem born again
Buds start to open green
But there are few who feel this when
So few know how to dream

Skuld Foretells All

Skuld had seen without that thrust
The shield wall would be broke
She saw Danes greeds could turn to dust
Just by that one swift stroke

Verthandi would prepare each lad
To do what Skuld foresaw
The Norns felt neither joy nor sad
They knew this would halt Thor

The God of thunder and wild Tyr
Both had their way of late
So now they ought be halted here
The Norns controlled their Fate

Prophet Beware

That night he went into
The land of all the dreaming
As the future came in view
He heard three Norns a-scheming

Their words rang through his head
He tried to shout them loud
How sad he'll soon be dead
Quite dead and in his shroud

The Fates you see are fickle
Full of their complex schemes
And Death comes with his sickle
When they've been in your dreams

Take care with prophesy
The Norns may keep this vow
"No matter what you see
No one may hear you now!"

Loki's Dream

Though Odhinn knows he is to die
He must still go to Ragnorok [24]
Some things we do we know not why
Therein's the key that turns the lock

We must all face what is our fate
We must all bear what we must bear
We may want love but just get hate
But in this there is much to share

For fate may make us face much change
And fate may make things fade away
And all that's known may yet turn strange
And darkness smother light of day

And though we face what seems our fate
We must all bear what we must bear
We may give love and feel no hate
Yet to all hate we may be heir

While jealousy may feed the soul
And love abandoned starve the heart
While all some have they may have stole
And dullards act as though they're smart

Where topsy-turvy is the norm
The stable may then cause distress
Where shapelessness may have some form
And goodness only cause distress

The chaos of some long gone time
May re-appear and rise its head
Like wraiths arising out of slime
Some joy may come from out of dread

Mutations change and rearrange
And stable forms may be like jail
If you embrace all that is strange
Then all that's free may be for sale

Now Odhinn though he knows his lot
He knows more than all gods and men
He knows too that he'll be forgot
Doe's he think that he'll rise again?

Balder and his dark sibling Hoth
May be destined to rise from dead
But all the future's empty froth
For Loki never heeds what's said

For fate we know is fickle too
We know there's little that we know
While much is novel nothing's new
And where we've been is where we'll go

For topsy-turvy is the norm
And blind faith leads all to distress
And shapelessness has its own form
All rigid things may sheer through stress

We may all fight what is our fate
We may not care nor wish to bear
We may want love and not want hate
In folly there is much despair

Sonnet: Life is unkind

We know some hopes may end in sad despair
And doleful kin may say their sad laments
We know that life may bring us nought but care
For none may have control of all events
A child may stand beside a parent's grave
And feel that is the natural thing to do
But there's no parent who may feel that brave
To lose a child will leave all souls to rue
Why was this life so short and mine so long?
Why have we worked so hard for hopes to end?
Why does Fate often take the young and strong
And leave the old alone without a friend?
These questions seem to echo 'round the mind
But answers do not come - Life is unkind!

Aethelwulf's First Prayer

Dear Christ show Grace
My fate I face
Though I must die this way
You are on high
I need to cry
Now on my final day
Grant me release
And lasting peace
To you sweet Christ I pray

Sonnet: Morning

Morning is here at the dawn of the day
The sky in the east can be such a sight
The dappled green tree will feel the Sun's ray
Gentlest of glow it conceals a true might
A blackbird is singing up on the bough
The song is then carried far on the breeze
That sound is always so glorious NOW
It has with it such a feeling of ease
Hazy clouds high are adrift in our sky
While on the ground there is this sweet, soft breeze
Whole souls complete may feel no urge to sigh
Unburdened they may go and feel at ease
All things we know must flow from start to end
And back with Mother Earth we all must blend

The Scene Aethelwulf Saw

Sweet sickly smelled the killing scene
Where so much rich red blood congealed
The scene seemed intimate, serene
As if some sacred scroll was sealed
Until all of their blood had chilled
He lay in shock and shook with grief
As violently as they'd been killed
This aftermath brought no relief
There was there then a strange bond sealed
Between him and that Dane
As both their blood seeped and congealed
Those two lay there in pain
Yet really he could not see why
All these men here just had to die

Sonnet: Broken Men

Much sadness now seemed to engulf his soul
It seemed as though all life was some odd dreams
World-weary men can rarely feel quite whole
They're reconciled that nothing's as it seems
In failing and in loss is where they dwell
To them the world holds little of allure
At best life's drab at worst it is true hell
For broken men it's known there is no cure
Somnambulant they let the years go by
Initiating nothing any more
With heart that aches and eyes that seldom cry
Downtrodden men decline, that's what they're for
The subjects of an arbitrary power
Must face a life where all things may turn sour

Sonnet: Blighted Lives

And all about that place a stink arose
The stench of rotting flesh of butchered men
The aftermath of battles fill the nose
Soon victors and the losers both have fled
The stink that's left so few men can abide
There is no glory in what's left behind
If it's for this a victor's puffed with pride
Then mayhap this whole world has lost its mind
While carrion beasts may dine and eat their fill
The orphans and the wives may hear no word
For next day's aftermath is cool and chill
'Though still are heard the songs of every bird
And dew upon green leaves glints in the light
Survivors skulk away for all is blight

Sonnet: Power's Lovers

Where harm is done not all may be put right
The overlording acts of those who rule
And seek their way by power and by might
Who will use others just like they're a tool
To use and chuck aside at whim and will
Though to control all is a craven act
The power it brings may bring a secret thrill
As secret sadness will become a fact
Why do a few seek to control the rest?
Is there a need for overlords at all?
And why should some have such a feathered nest?
And yet there may be joy to see them fall
To have your sway may not seem all that bad
But power may leave many hearts quite sad

New Hope

"In deep shade 'neath a gnarled old oak
There's nothing can grow there
Like where you hanged the last of hope
And dwelled in deep despair

And crying and lamenting were
The only thing you knew
Until you turned yourself away
And sought for something new

You wandered into sunlit glades
And thought you caught a sight
You did not then return to shades
So dwell now in a light

The light that shines without, within
A new life can create
When you have found the will to win
Your pain it will abate

The light you have is called "new hope"
The darkness was despair
It held you like old hempen ropes
That vanished in clean air

New hopes are like a springtime leaf
That unfurls on warm days
Then time abates a forlorn grief
And new hopes shine their rays"

Sonnet: The Mother's Grief

So lonely is the mother unconsoled
Now strangers on the road have heard her words
The child she loved she will no longer hold
While souls in grief just cannot soar like birds
And emptiness is not a thing to share
But there's mundane tasks still there to be done
While sympathy may well be everywhere
In grief there is a process to be run
Voids in the soul are opened up by grief
And whilst it's hard to ever see an end
With time and little things there is relief
Whether it is with kinfolk or a friend
While there is horror in a bloody strife
Joy will be found when getting on with life

Sonnet: After a Storm

The ripples on the water by the bridge
The swirling currents of the water's flow
The clouds billow above the hilltop ridge
The landscape's so serene and green below
The fishes in the stream hide in the weeds
The gale has ceased and eased down to a breeze
That storm tore down some trees but bent the reeds
Amid the loosestrife blooms are heard some bees
Those bent reeds are now upright once again
Those trees will just be so much sawn up wood
In coppice there beside the reedy mere
Some saplings start to sprout just as they should
There's constancy within all waters flow
The fish, the reeds and trees all come and go

Suns and Moons

The rising of the sun
A brilliant orange sky
Now this long day's begun
You tremble and you cry

The passage of the sun
From dawn through to midday
With journey that's half done
It carries on its way

Noon sun in late July
The light and humid heat
Shimmer before the eye
When cool drinks are a treat

Noon sun in December
A bright light without heat
It's a cooling ember
A brilliant lurid cheat

The passage of the sun
It's run to West from East
So soon the day is done
And we'll sit down to feast

The setting of the sun
A vivid ruddy sky
The long night has begun
But there's no need to cry

The rising of the moon
That's presaged by its glow
Its full disk is seen soon
What secret will it show

The passage of the moon
Her sensuous glowing face
Like a foretelling rune
There's glory in her grace

The moon's shrunk to a crescent
A gentle subtle glow
With honeysuckle's scent
All stress may fade and go

The moon has waxed to full
A fulsomeness of grace
It has a mystic pull
Reflecting light from space

The passage of the moon
From moonrise to moonset
Its glow may go quite soon
But there is no regret

The setting of the moon
The dying of its light
The depths of darkness soon
The stars a glorious sight

Sonnet: Moonbeams

Depression gives to life a dream like state
Elation can make souls seem like they fly
Emotions may well lurch from love to hate
From happiness and joy to doleful sigh
An ocean roller ride 'tween heav'n and hell
Where placidness in life is quite unknown
No fixed place for the soul to rest and dwell
And any chance of calm has been long flown
And gone away. So there's no calmer way
To live now, but that is the way things are
Lurching between extremes throughout each day
All chance of hope's like wishing on a star
If life's just one long stream of such extremes
Then peace has all the substance of Moonbeams