Wretched, distant lives. Now I lie with longing.
My lord commanded me to live here
Where I have few friends, little love,
And no sense of home. Now my heart mourns.
I had found the best man for me, 20
My husband and companion, hiding his mind,
Closing his heart, bound in torment,
Brooding on murder beneath a gentle bearing.
How often we promised each other at night
That nothing would part us except death. 25
But fate is twisted—everything’s turned.
Our love is undone, our closeness uncoupled.
The web of our wedding is unwoven.
Something now seems as if it never was—
Our friendship together. Far and near, 30
I must suffer the feud of my dear lord’s brooding.
I was forced to live in a cold earth-cave,
Under an oak tree in an unhappy wood.
My earth-house is old. I lie with longing.
Here are steep hills and gloomy valleys, 35
Dark hideouts under twisted briars,
Bitter homes without joy. My lord’s leaving
Seizes my mind, harrows my heart.
Somewhere friends share a lover’s bed,
Couples clinging to their closeness at dawn, 40
While I sing each morning’s sorrow
Outside my earth-cave, under my oak tree,
Where I spend the summer-long day,
Mourning my exile, the cares of my heart,
The wandering of my tormented mind. 45
My spirit cannot rest, my heart be healed,
My mind be free from this life’s longing.
A young man must surely wake at dawn
With hard-edged sadness in his lonely heart.
He must brook misery beneath a gentle bearing 50
While he suffers his own stretch of sorrow,
Endless and undoing. May he look for joy
In an empty bed, exiled also in an alien land—
So that my friend sits under stone cliffs,
Pelted by storms, stranded by waves, 55
Chilled to the bone in his cruel hall.
In the comfort of cold, the embrace of anguish,
He may remember a kinder hearth and home.
Woe waits for the lover who lies longing.
JUDGMENT DAY I
This is one of two Judgment Day poems; the other is in “The Minor Poems.” The theme is also found in Christ III: Judgment in the Exeter Book (see above) and in other religious poems and homilies (see, for example, Verse in a Homily: The Judgment of the Damned in “Additional Poems”). Donoghue notes that one of the major themes in OE religious poetry is “the immanence of the Last Judgment” (89), especially as the millennium drew near, and cites (92) the importance of Luke 21:25–28: “‘And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves; Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.’” Jones notes that this poem’s “picture of the Last Judgment is impressionistic, better suited to stirring pious fears than clarifying doctrine” (xxxii).
Judgment Day I
It shall come to pass that the seas will rise
And flood the earth, oceans everywhere
Wrapping the world. Each and every
Living thing will meet its ordained end.
Whoever wants to, can contemplate 5
This hard truth in his heart and mind.
Our Lord has determined the judgment day,
When he will return in full radiance
To burn up the earth, lay blaze to the land.
That will be no trivial exchange of words 10
When the Lord arrives! A savage heat
Will seize the earth’s surface, kindling creation,
Leaving behind only flames, embers, and ashes—
For this world is now ruled unrightly
By hard-hearted, cruel-minded men 15
Who hoard power and flaunt their pride,
Slander and scorn their unloved Lord—
Till those who should guard the soul against sin
Betray and entrap them, deceive and destroy them,
Leading them downward into a fiery darkness 20
With a crowd of friends and a company of fiends.
Fire will be their welcome, flame their ushering in,
Torment their unglad greeting in a land where no sun
Lights up the sky, no stars glimmer on that dark roof,
As the soul meets its jailers of truth and terror 25
Too late—those are not kind companions.
There struggles a hot crowd in a cramped space
Without a hint of cooling. This is no joyful home
But a house of horrors, no palace of pleasures
But the pit of hell, an unending abyss— 30
The bitter end of life’s long journey
For a man who sows strife with his mouth
And harbors hatred in his heart. He forgets to remember
About the darkness of creation, the hold of hell,
How it descends endlessly, exists infinitely. 35
For those ushered in because of their sins,
Their suffering will never stop. Their pain is permanent.
Who then is so wise about the world’s wonders
That he can reckon the height of heaven,
Express its exaltation, grasp its unending good, 40
As it stands ready to welcome those purified souls
Who have heard this hard but healing message,
Desiring God’s glory and dreading the deeps.
The day is coming when we must bring forward
Our sins and transgressions in habit and thought— 45
That will be a hard meeting in a cruel court.
The heat will be cooled, the warmth of the earth—
Nothing will be left except the rage of water
And furious death in the home of fish.
Here will be seen neither blood nor bone, 50
But each of the children of men shall seek
With body and soul, a righteous reckoning,
A just reward for all the deeds we have done,
All we have wrought in our lives on earth.
There is no greater terror than this tolling 55
That will resound beyond all boundaries.
No stars will sparkle, earth’s glories will fade,
Power and possessions will pass away.
Therefore I promise to retell this truth,
To teach all people to praise God’s glory, 60
To keep the hope of heaven in their hearts,
To live in faith and win the Lord’s love
Before that dread, majestic day,
When trumpets herald the hot flame,
The blare and blaze of terrible power. 65
Then all fame will fade, all earthly glory
Will be gone, when the great guardian of light
Drenches all earth with endless fire,
Blazing branch and bone, brood and blood.
The air will ignite, fire sweep the sky, 70
Bright and burning. Blood will be shed—
Men will know the high hand of power.
The flames will quicken, creation quake,
Heaven will resound with a ring of fire.
Then men and women will leave this world, 75
The misery of earth, this mass of woe,
To see with some trepidation their deeds
Enduring in eternity. That day will reveal
Whose life is clean, who
se heart is pure:
A great reward will be ready for them. 80
Hope has always been abiding in heaven,
Since our loving Savior, the Lord of the world,
In accord with providence was nailed to the rood,
A sheer radiance on the darkest wood,
Tied and tortured to save mankind. 85
Christ keeps count of all good deeds.
He holds court and comprehends the heart.
The sinful soul finds itself nowhere near
The road to heaven, as it always despises
Holy instruction, slanders the sacred, 90
Scorns God’s wisdom, mocking the truth.
That man does not see the mouth of terror
In each evil act till the teeth strike him.
Suddenly he discovers in desperation,
As mankind is divided, that he will at last 95
Stand at the left hand of God, forever lost,
Not at the right hand with the saved,
Set free from sin and all earthly wounds.
A man of the world sips sweet wine,
Tasting life’s pleasures, wanton at the feast, 100
Carousing instead of contemplating his fate,
Lusting for this life, oblivious to the next.
Then the Lord of souls, the Prince of glory,
According to his holy promise and plan,
Will offer solace to those who reflect 105
On their sins, suffer remorse, and meditate
Carefully on Christ’s meaning and mercy.
The Lord of life and Guardian of heaven
Will welcome home with great rewards
Those who have sorrowed for their worldly sins, 110
Suffered shame, and longed for mercy.
The one who wants to live with God
Should not be slow to learn this truth
Nor sluggish to set out on the soul’s journey
If he wants to find that glorious homeland 115
That the eternal Lord of brightness and blessings,
The Prince of souls, prepares for us.
He is our Victory-lord who adorns that hall,
Who graces that dwelling. All will be welcome
Who are pure of heart, free from sin, 120
As the Wielder of heaven’s grace has said,
The King of all kings. So everyone alive
Should listen to the Lord—at least those who think
Deeply and desire to rise to the heights of heaven.
It will come to pass, though the body is covered 125
With earth and clay, a deep blanket of dust,
That it shall rise up and receive life, quicken again,
Return to being, breathe above ground.
The children of earth, the offspring of Adam,
Will be summoned to judgment, called to court. 130
Then their souls and bodies, spirits and bone-houses,
Will be brought together in a miraculous meeting,
Ready to travel that long, last road.
Then the truth will be shown, judgment made known,
When we gather together on that greatest of days 135
Beneath the cross. Before God’s rood
Everything will be revealed under the heavens,
Whether hot or cold, good or evil.
Each and every truth will at last be told—
Nothing will be lost, nothing left out, 140
As God listens, the greatest of kings,
To what we have done. His powerful voice
Will be louder and clearer, more penetrating to people,
Than any trumpet ever blown, any horn ever heard.
His words will be manifest throughout middle-earth. 145
Under his mighty message, the plains will tremble,
The earth reverberate, the continents quake.
Remember this lesson and repeat this truth.
I cannot alter this fate under heaven.
It shall come to pass for all people 150
That the final fire will hover over
The homes of men, blasting their bodies,
Blazing their beauty, flaming their form.
Beyond that burning, life will be set
On a new foundation of eternal bliss. 155
Only those who think this through now
Will be there then. Only those who know
God’s truth will enter the glory of heaven.
RESIGNATION A: THE PENITENT’S PRAYER
This poem and the next have traditionally been combined as a single poem with a variety of titles, such as A Supplication, The Exile’s Prayer, Contrition, and Resignation (the title in ASPR). There is now debate about whether the poems are actually one. There is evidence of a lost manuscript leaf between them; in addition, the lexical and thematic shifts between the two parts lead the latest editor of the Exeter Book to regard the poems as separate but related and to entitle them Contrition A and B (Muir, 670). The subtitles used in this edition are meant to reflect the differences in tone and form in the poems. The subtitle for Resignation A is taken from Pulsiano (1995). Fulk and Cain point out that both are “monologues on the theme of sin and righteousness,” but note that this first poem is “a penitential prayer in which a contrite sinner asks God’s forgiveness and mercy, pleading that the angels take him into God’s presence, and though he committed many sins, that the devil not be allowed to lead him on a laðne sið, ‘hated journey’” (136).
Resignation A: The Penitent’s Prayer
May the eternal and almighty God
Hold and help me, rule and restrain me,
Keep and comfort me. My glorious Lord,
You first shaped heaven and earth,
The world’s wonders, magnificent and manifold, 5
For the children of men. I commend to you,
Almighty God, Guardian of wisdom,
Lord of light, my body and soul,
My limbs and thoughts, my words and works.
Show me a sign, Shepherd of the stars, 10
Marking the way for my soul to follow,
To see your will in the wonders of creation,
That I may prosper in serving you.
Nurture in me what is gracious and good,
My righteous King. Do not let the arch-thief 15
That evil enemy, that demon-wolf,
Come stalking me in the shadows,
Even though I’ve followed you more feebly,
Served you less surely than I should have done,
As my King of glory, my powerful Creator. 20
My ever-living Lord, forgive me my sins,
My heart’s hostile thoughts, my dark deeds.
I remember the remedy, O glory of kings,
And hope to attain it if I am allowed.
Grant me some respite to know your will; 25
Give me both insight and understanding,
Both patience and purpose, to pass the trials
That you might send me, my righteous King.
You may see in my soul sinful thoughts
And mark in my deeds serious transgression, 30
Yet grant me forgiveness, sustain me with mercy,
My Lord and Judge, though I have committed
More faults, more cruelties, more bitter sins,
Than God in his wisdom would have permitted.
I need to know mercy, to find some favor 35
In my dwindling days, in my desperate hours,
To see and seek another way of life,
A way without sin, so that gracious God
May grant me new life, a gladness beyond,
Though I’ve made amends, purged my sins, 40
Cleansed my soul more slowly than I ought,
Kept the commandments less surely than I should.
You have given me something beyond measure.
* * *
I set my hope, my trust in you,
With my anxious fears
and terrible forebodings, 45
So that my soul may be securely fixed.
Lift up my heart, elevate my spirit,
O King of souls, to the great remedy
Promised and prepared. I hasten to you,
Father of mankind, away from the mundane, 50
Wretched world. I leave before long.
Let me depart, Lord of the beloved—
Welcome me home with embracing arms,
Ruler of destinies, Sustainer of my soul.
When too many men surround me with malice, 55
When too many friends become my foes,
I will come to the Lord for kindness and comfort,
Even though I have earned no honor,
Merited no mercy in my earlier days.
But let the angels descend to deliver me, 60
Bear me home to your holy presence,
Your judgment, measure and mercy, Lord.
Even though I have grievously sinned
Day after day, let no devil lead me,
Your own offspring, a limb of your body, 65
On that loathsome journey, that harmful road,
Lest those arrogant angels, proud of plotting,
Rejoice in their old rebellion, their original idea
That they were better than the eternal Christ.
They were sorely deluded and must always endure 70
Perpetual exile, creatures who are cursed.
Stand by me Lord and sustain my spirit;
Restrain and repel that storm of demons,
Those woeful once-angels attacking my soul.
Heal my heart and lift me into heaven, 75
My just Lord, my generous Judge.
My soul is even now stained with sins,
And I am sometimes afraid, though surely I know
You have given me many gifts, precious favors,
Honors on this earth. All thanks to you 80
For unmerited mercies, unearned blessings,
All kindness and comfort beyond my deserving.
* * *
RESIGNATION B: THE EXILE’S LAMENT
See the preceding headnote for Resignation A. Unlike the former poem, this one has more of an elegiac tone than a prayerful one. The speaker here laments his painful life in exile and wonders what he has done to offend God. He hopes that his Lord might offer him a bot or “remedy,” but in the end he feels forced to endure a fate that he is helpless to change. Fulk and Cain note that the speaker of this poem tells of “God’s punishments for him, which he cannot understand … he complains of isolation, loneliness, and persecution—hardly the sentiments of Resignation A” (136). His desperate, muffled cry for help or hope at the end of the poem is reminiscent of the cries in some of the elegies. Bliss and Frantzen argue that this poem “is not in any way a religious poem: it is a psychological study of a state of mind” (397), noting further that “it is a dramatic monologue by the kind of man who never succeeds in any of his enterprises, and who blames everyone but himself for his failure” (297). The subtitle for Resignation B follows the suggestion of Bjork (2014).
The Complete Old English Poems Page 66