Virtuous Woman of the East
From EastKingdomWiki
Written by Toki Redbeard in October of A.S. 44. The verse form is kvithuhattr.
Clean the heart | and clear the voice | |
of bright kin | of claw-dragon, | |
filling hall | with fiendish tales. | |
Also sweet | songs do echo | |
from this small | friend of poems. | |
Oft I praise | her potent muse— | |
Odin’s wine | eager pouring. | |
While pouring, | wonder I— | |
If ‘neath muse | murder lurking. | |
Can her heart | the cleanest be? | |
Mothers trust | troubadors not! | |
Could this birch | break the peace and | |
Would she spit | with spear her foes? | |
With axe fell | the oaks of feud? | |
If need comes, | a corpse to hide? | |
A foul crime, | to cover up? | |
Bearing to | boulder of law | |
false witness, | a friend to aid? | |
Not ever. | Elm of virtue— | |
East’s finest | is fair and true. | |
Still I wonder | if winsome gleam | |
in brow’s moons | does mischief show? | |
Or brief flicker | of fire’s lighting | |
which twinkles in | the tune-smith’s eyes. |
© Michael Dixon