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~ By Courtesy of Others ~
In Praise of Bragi
O road-rambling, wide-wandering traveler, you
Who’ve dwelled in fell fortress and humblest byre,
You who have climbed among the highest crags
Of the most forbidding, snow-choked mountains,
Down to the sea’s turbulent edge; you who move
From mighty, ancient city to forest wilderness,
With perfect confidence into the vast unknown,
Teach me to go too wherever I must go
With courage and faith, and without fear
Of those things which I must say when I arrive.
O song-making skald whose magnificent voice
Brought down mountains and scattered armies
And has shattered a heart of stone; you who
Sing sunlight and shadow into solid gold,
Who commands the winds to abruptly cease
And the birds to fall silent and breathless,
Who tames the beast and stills the swinging sword,
Teach me to raise my voice in speech and song
For joy’s sake and without any self-conscious shame,
And to foster my own skald’s magic from thin air.
O friend of friends, friend of all, who has been a guest
In Vanaheim’s verdant hills and the wild Iron Wood,
Who is welcome in Alfheim, both light and dark,
Nidavellir’s deep caverns and Midgard’s villages,
The lands of primal ice and fire, and Death’s own hall,
You who have spread your glorious tales and songs
From world to world, giving freely to all hearers,
Teach me to lay aside my mistrust and hatred
And to go among others in peace and friendship
To share the gifts with which I have been blessed.
O Bragi, mighty tale-teller, song-spinner, best of poets,
Share your great wisdom so that I may serve you
With whatever tools I possess, and with skill and grace.
© Elizabeth Vongvisith
Twilight and
Fire - Mysticism, devotion, and explorations of the heart.
Author of
“Trickster, My Beloved”, “Love
and Shadows”, and “Be
Thou My Hearth and Shield"