6.30.2010

Progress

In the beginning,
there was a being,
supreme in all things,
as which there was nothing,
save for himself,
and he was alone,
but he needed man,
as man would soon need him,
so he created mankind,
in his image,
as which there was nothing else,
and he was proud,
so he created laws,
as which there were none,
and man broke his laws,
as he knew they would,
so he created punishment
for breaking his laws,
as which he loved mankind,
and man forgot him,
as which he needed them
and they needed him no longer,
so man created laws,
as which they had none,
and they created punishment,
as which there was none,
and created themselves,
in his image,
and forgot mankind,
and they were proud.

Ratatosk

Atop the tallest tree in the land
abode three unlikely cohorts.
The first was a solemn eagle,
noble in nature,
and proud and handsome,
who sought peace in his provinces.

The second was a rooster,
who, despite his will
to appease his persons
and attend matters as the eagle had,
was known well as the tree serpent.

But it was the third creature
who held the true
dragon's forked tongue
in the mask of a curious rodent.
And the squirrel squandered his days
tormenting his fellow friends
with words of spite
and sowing seeds of doubt.

Malice fed the land
as the fowl had met their match
in Ratatosk.

The Ruling of Cinder and Ash

He held the burning blade high,
Eyes and tongue and iron had feasted well,
Not of Utgard, nor Hel nor Asgard persisted,
Yggdrasil crumbled and scorched to ash,
A pyre was made of the great World Tree
Where a sea of fire smote its limbs
Consuming man, elf and god alike,
From the depths of Niflheim it reached
And left one to rule a world of cinder and ash,
Surtur held the burning blade high.

The Verge of Mount Ararat

All hail the glorious,
victorious, and heroic dead.
All relish in their deeds.
Send them your blessings.
Send them your offerings.
Sing to them songs of pride.
Write of their noble valor.
And then burn the scrolls and tablets
and topple their sacred temples.
Man needs no idols to keep him comfort.

A Leaf from Your Brow

In truth, you tricked,
deceived, influenced; and
consorted with kin
to send them well
on their way,
as Skrymir in kind.

The Serpent Fills the Sky

He reign down from the skies
and splits the earth divide.
Terror fills the swollen streets
as men shamble to defeat.
He is Leviathan. He is god-
monster come reign supreme.
An apostle of fear. The chaos king.
Serpentine doom-bringer of worlds.
He reign down from the skies
and drinks the tiding flood cries.
Horror fills the soon dying lands
amidst seas of prayer and clasped hands.
The serpent fills the skies
and the earth fills the serpent.