Saturday, February 18, 2006

Einherjars´ End

It´s the end of the world and we know it
As we burst from the gates of Valhall;
With the war-lust of Wodan upon us,
Today for the last time we´ll fall.

Frost and Flame, which first became
The seed of Ginnungagap´s womb,
Unleashed now wreak havoc on Midgard´s plain,
Destroying all life in their doom.

We go with the Gods against giants,
We battle the hordes of Hel,
But the Ice-Jotnar kill with a deadly chill,
And neither side can prevail.

Thundering Thor to the thurses
Of fire deals furious death;
By a shattering blow, the Serpent´s laid low,
But he falls to her poisonous breath.

Heimdall and Loki, like Freyr
And Surt become each other´s bane;
Blood spills on the ice like a sacrifice
As Aesir and Etins lie slain.

Odin alone with grim laughter
Fights Fenrir that swallowed the sky;
I see Valfather fall, to the grief of all
Us Einherjar, who follow to die.

Then, stillness after the turmoil;
We´ve lost but we also have won;
Not in vain our toil on the blood-stained soil,
With the end something else has begun.

A
s the last crackling embers are dying
And we ghosts fade like smoke in the air,
A vision of future comes flying,
I behold it as though I was there -- :

B
arren and burnt lie the lands, but see !
Muspelli´s ashes make fertile the earth;
Thawed from the Ice, rivers run free,
Green is the ground, again Jord gives birth.

A new sun is shining through twigs entwining
- Lo, runes I spy against the blue sky !
Over the plain, the Wind blows again
And whispers old lore to a new Age of Men.

© 2004 Michaela Macha
Common Domain License Document

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