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Title: The Valkyrie And Raven
Author: George Borrow [
More Titles by Borrow]
Ye men wearing bracelets
Be mute whilst I sing
Of Harald the hero--
High Norroway's king;
I'll duly declare
A discourse which I heard,
Betwixt a bright maiden
And black raven bird.
The Valkyrie's vext
No war-field to find;
The speech she knew well
Of the wild feather'd kind,
And thus she bespake him
Who bears the brown bill,
So proud as he perch'd on
The peak of the hill.
"What do you here, ravens,
And whence come ye, say,
Your heads turn'd direct to
The dying sun's ray?
Bits of flesh hold your claws--
There's blood flowing free
From your beaks, surely nigh
Dead bodies there be."
Then wiping his beak,
Bloody red, on the rock,
The eagle's sworn brother
Thus answer'd and spoke:
"Harald we've follow'd,
Of Halfdan the son,
Ever since from the egg
That we egress have won."
"Then ye know, bird, the king,
Whose keep is in Kvine,
The young king--the Norse king--
Whose keels cut the brine;
Red-rimm'd are his bucklers,
Betarr'd are his oars--
His sails are all bleach'd
With the sea-spray and showers."
"Abroad will drink Yule,
The young king, and will try
To wake up, O maiden,
The wild game of Frey,
Of the warmth of the hearth
He weary is grown;
He loathes the close chamber
And cushions of down.
"Heard ye not the hard fight
Near Hafirsfirth beach,
'Twixt the king of high kindred
And Kotva the rich?
Sail'd ships from the East
Prepared for war stern;
Their dragon heads gaped,
Their gilded sides burn.
"They were fill'd with proud freemen
Well furnish'd with shields,
And the very best weapons
The western land yields;
Grimly the Baresarkers
Grinn'd, biting steel,--
Howl'd the wolf-heathens
War madness they feel.
"They moved 'gainst the monarch
Whose might makes them pine,
'Gainst the king--the Norse king--
Who keeps court at Utstein;
Flinch'd the king's bark at first,
For they ply'd her right well--
There was hammering on helmets
Ere Haklangr fell.
"Left the land to the lad
With the locks long and full,
Rich Kotva, the lord,
Thick of neck, like the bull;
'Neath the thwarts themselves threw,
They who'd wounds, in despair,
Their heads to the keel
And their heels to the air.
"On their shoulders their shields,
Such as Swafni's roof form,
Flinging swift as a fence
From the fierce stony storm;
The yeomen affrighted
From Hafirsfirth speed,
And arrived at their homes
They call hoarsely for mead.
"The slain strew the strand
To the very great joy
Of ourselves and of Odin,
The chief of one eye."
_Valkyrie_.
"Of his wars and his prowess
With wonder I've heard;
Now speak of his wives
And his women, O bird!"
_Raven_.
"He had damsels from Holmygg
And Hordaland, too;
And damsels from Hedemark
Dainty of hue;
But he sent them with gifts
To their countries again,
When he wedded Ranhilda
The beautiful Dane."
_Valkyrie_.
"I warrant he's bounteous!
And well doth reward
The warriors and gallants
His kingdom who guard."
_Raven_.
"O, yes, he is bounteous!
And bravely they fare
Who in Harald's dominions
Hew food for the bear;
With coin he presents them,
And keen polish'd glaives,
With mail from Hungaria
And Osterland slaves."
"O happy lives have they
Who help him in war,
Can run to the mast-head
Or manage the oar;
Make the row-locks to creak,
And the row-bench to crack,
And in their lord's service
Are never found slack."
_Valkyrie_.
"Of the Skalds now I'll ask thee,
The sons of the strain,
By whom deathless honor
He hopes to obtain;
I doubt not, O Raven,
That thou knowest well
The workers of verse
Who at Harald's court dwell."
_Raven_.
"By their gallant array,
By the armlets they bear
All of gold, you may learn
To their lord they are dear;
Ruddy kirtles they have
That are laced at the skirts,
Swords silver inlaid,
And steely mail shirts:
All gilded their hilts,
Their helmets all graven;
Gold rings on their hands."
_Valkyrie_.
"Now read me, O Raven,
Of the Baresarkers--how
Do ye style them who wade
In blood ankle-deep
By no danger dismay'd?"
_Raven_.
"Wolf-heathens they hight,
To the thick of the fray
Ruddy shields who do bear,
And with swords clear away;
None but those who know nought
Of terror can stand
When stout and strong men
Shiver buckler with brand."
_Valkyrie_.
"Of jesting and game
Our discourse shall be brief;
What does Andadr do,
Harald's jester in chief?"
_Raven_.
"Fun Andadr loves;
He makes faces and sneers,
And the monarch doth laugh
At the loon without ears.
There are others who bear
Burning brands from the fire
Stick a torch 'neath their belt,
Yet ne'er singe their attire;
Some that dance on their heels,
Or that tumble and spring--
O 'tis gay in the hall
Of high Harald the king!"
[The end]
George Borrow's poem: The Valkyrie And Raven
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