The Nine Realms
9 months, 22 poets and writers, 22 Artists, 3 composers, 1 Viking boat: a magical reworking of Norse Mythology for contemporary audiences
Poems and Writing inspired by the Norse realm of Asgard
Featuring:
Tom Murphy, Joanna Lee, James Knight, Nat Hall
Asgard
by Tom Murphy
.
on the first night I was called by the jackdaw
tapping on the sill after the moon went dark
“fly” she said, and I was able to follow
a cold night but I soared
over the meadow
into the wood
across the bridge
I saw bodies hanging in the tree
the nine lives offered
the snake
the wolf
the elk
the hare
the frog
the cat
the fox
the calf
by the fire
the old man sat
a circle already prepared
so deep was his look
he saw my birth
through my left eye
.
.
.
All the world needs is another dumb princess
by Joanna Lee
Click on the poem to enlarge.
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To find out more about the back-story to this poem click here.
Ymir
by James Knight
.
Ymir used to be a big nothing;
Now he’s everything.
His hair is the grass, the trees, the reeds
His scalp is the desert
His skull is the empty vault of space
His brain is telecommunications
His skin is a reality made of matter and mirages
His forehead is the Ten Commandments
His eyebrows are lethargy and a thousand easy lies
His eyelashes are the meshes of love
His eyes are stars, supernovas, lightbulbs, fireworks, napalm, nuclear war
His ears are the remains of imaginary animals
His nose is a sad farewell
His nostrils are wormholes to another dimension where the Bird King reigns from his electric throne
His lips are a debate on the meaning of the word “jihad”
His teeth are Coca Cola
His tongue is mother of all languages
His cheeks are zoology
His chin is Mount Olympus
His neck is an execution at dawn
His shoulders are art installations attempting controversy through the juxtaposition of childhood and terrorism
His arms are escape routes to Hell
His hands are bird cages or prison cells or holding bays or rooms without doors
His chest is archaeology
His ribcage is the phantom city at dusk
His heart is time
His lungs are the four winds, weather, disaster
His abdomen is sentiment
His digestive system is a labyrinth of corridors and offices
His hips are cemeteries
His genitals are every whimsical thought anyone has ever had
His legs are mannequins staring murderously at passersby
His feet are oceans.
The rest of Ymir remains uncatalogued
In boxes
In a basement
Under the ruins of a building
Forgotten by the story-tellers.
.
.
.
(Superstition)
by Nat Hall
.
Feel flight feathers & falcon’s skin.
Now walk through clouds, realm of Æsir,
where ravens perch on primal
strand of the rainbow;
where rain falls red
and Mjollnir *
sleeps –
he
who
wears blue
will not be seen as the shaman,
but a rider extraordinaire –
Huginn & Muninn**
side by side,
birds of
battle wish for
wisdom.
Rumour rambles
inside gods’ dreams, he
who controls the many moods of
heavens’ eyes, fruits of
the Earth and fights
giants, can be
called in the name of law,
farming men frown to his chariot…
Skygods in mighty citadel,
home inside halls, walls built by a tricked
gigantic mason,
there is a sly one among them –
he might just be a half-brother, metamorphic,
so fair of face, unafraid to turn a
stallion, hides black inside.
And if you doubt
superstition,
wait for the slain,
flames, ferryman – hear
valkyries*** run on
floorboards,
stand
on
other side of
the shore.
Now let gods gaze at the cauldron.
Let them drink tides of golden
mead brewed for them in
the sea god’s hall.
From his high
seat at
Valaskjalf*.
He, mighty seer, surveys it all in the nine realms.
© Nat Hall 2014
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1 * Mjollnir: Thor’s hammer;’** Huginn & Muninn: Odin’s ravens – Huginn (thought) & Muninn (Memory)
2 ***Valkyries: Odin’s twelve maidens who conducted the slain warriors of their choice from the battlefield to
Valhalla (Vikings’ paradise). Valaskjalf: Odin’s Hall
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You can read the overview of Asgard here
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Find out more about Tom, Joanna, James and Nat here:
Tom Murphy
Joanna Lee
https://twitter.com/la_poetessa
James Knight
http://chimeragroup.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/badbadpoet
Nat Hall
http://nordicblackbird.weebly.com/
https://twitter.com/nordicblackbird
Watch out for more Asgard poetry next week!
As always, thank you for your interest.
Reblogged this on nordicblackbird and commented:
#theninerealms first round of Poems & prose for #Asgard, Realm No.1
I especially like the Ymir-poem. A nice idea.
Dear Nannus, I did pass your comment about James’ Ymir poem on to him. 🙂 All good wishes, Nicky