Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Wednesday Poetry Blogging

Odin (Odhinn, Woden, Wotan) is the chief divinity of the Norse Pantheon. Although Odin is a warrior god -- a god of fury and violent death -- he is also the god of poetry and speech. The Eddas speak of how he won Óðroerir... "the mead of inspiration" which allows poets to compose great poetry; and that he gave man the gift of "divine breath." Other sources credit Odin with being the origin of all language. As such, it seems only fitting that on Wednesday -- literally "the day of Woden" or "Woden's Day" -- we have a poem for him.

A Prayer To Odin

Odin, Allfather, one of your own needs watching over this night. He is a warrior of your people, a poet and skald, and a sailor. He has weathered many storms and battles. His six best friends are in your company in Valhalla or with Freyr. They each died in battle, and he suffers of wounds received in battle, also.

Odin, Allfather, save Tor for another battle. Let his poetry ring forth from his strong lips for years to come. Let him know some happiness with wife and children. He will come to you in time, let it not be soon. God of poets, battles, sailors and storms, watch over him.

Odin, Allfather, god of seafarers, guide him through the fever this night. Send forth Geri and Freki to devour death if it should come to him. Let Hugin and Munin perch upon his shoulders whispering words, words of the good life he has had, and the good life to come.

Odin, Allfather, father of the Valkyries, do not take him from Suzu, a strong woman herself, who is fit to be one of your own daughters. Don't break her heart. She has seen enough already. Do not take him from his brother and parents at such a young age. He has been your warrior; give him some years as your poet.

Odin, Allfather, should you not heed this prayer, should you take him for Valhalla now, let the world tremble beneath the feet of his shade. Let not his passing go unnoticed! So be it!

©Copyright May 22, 2002 by Charles L. Weatherford

5 comments:

Brainwise said...

Which I am currently reading, and from which Monday's Quotable entry came. I felt kind of bad for Mr. Wednesday today, so I wanted to post a poem in his honor.

Mira said...

A beautiful prayer to Odin.

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I bought Gaiman's book some time ago but haven't read it yet. Maybe I should get around to it.

Some side notes, the subject of the poem died less than a month after it was written. Here's a more complete perspective on the story: Tor Poems.

Lastly, my understanding of copyright law is that there is no "Fair Use" clause for the Internet. Because the Internet is the equivalent of making innumerable copies, it's illegal to publish something without permission, even with the copyright statement. In this case, permission granted after the fact. But others might not be as generous, so please be careful for your own protection in the future.

Thanks,

Charley

Brainwise said...

Charley:

Thank you for the additional notes on the subject of your wonderful poem as well as the retroactive permission to post it. I also thank you for the "fair use" reminder. I spend so much time working with/under the Creative Commons license, that I just didn't think about other copyright matters. The next time I am in this position, perhaps I will simply provide a link to the item I wish to share with my readers.

I am glad you took the attitude of 'no harm, no foul' and I hope this posting gave you a little extra traffic. Your work deserves all the traffic that can be thrown your way.

I would have sent this comment to you directly as well, but you did not leave an email address. I hope you stop by again and see this.

Brainwise said...

Oh, and Charley, you should definitely read definitely read American Gods.