Destiny.

From time to time it is important to remind ourselves of past glory

But it is even more important to remember who we are

And where we are going

We must pursue, and ultimately fulfill our destiny

And let lesser men stand aside.

When our time comes

Let them divert a river, and under it build us a tomb

And let us rest forever in peace

Frozen once again

In the safety of our mother’s womb.

A rustle in the long grass.

There was a rustle in the long grass

When the tiger came to eat me

He was slow and I was fast

With two good legs to take me

And there always is that sober thought

The tiger is just playing

He never seems to ask himself

Why do I even play at all?

For one of these days, the way things are going

One of us will surely catch up with the other.

Poem: Two Paths.

There are two paths.

One is easy.

And one is hard.

Which one, do you think,

Will be the more rewarding?

これには

つのパスがあります

つは簡単です

困難です

つと思いますか、詳細に報われるだろうか

Please pass the axe.

...then the awful fight began. (George Wright.)

From the Poetic Edda:


It sates itself on the life-blood
of fated men,
paints red the powers' homes
with crimson gore.
Black become the sun's beams
in the summers that follow,
weathers all treacherous.
Do you still seek to know? And what?

***

Brothers will fight
and kill each other,
sisters' children
will defile kinship.
It is harsh in the world,
whoredom rife
—an axe age, a sword age
—shields are riven—
a wind age, a wolf age—
before the world goes headlong.
No man will have
mercy on another

The rain is falling, gently through the trees
A dove gives a mournful call
I wonder what he sees
Newborn child a-bawling?
Or just the futility of it all.
He told me once, a wise old owl
Very good advice, to get me through it all
The glass is either half-empty or half-full
It says a lot about you
The choices that you call.
The rain is falling, gently through the trees
A chipmunk sits there laughing
I wonder what he sees.

(Appears in Selected Poems, available from Smashwords and coming to other retailers soon.)