Where snakes, stingers, serpents, and burn-bringers 50
First woke and slithered, swarmed and spread,
Bearing their unhealthy bite and breath.
Wolf’s grim sword still shines there,
Gleaming steel over a glut of graves.”
Solomon said: 55
“Only a fool wades through deep water,
Not knowing how to swim, braving the waves
Without a ship and its lifting sails,
Without wings or fathomless feet.
His toes cannot touch that sea-bed ground. 60
He’s testing God and tempting fate.
He’s bound to fail, to find death in the deep.”
Saturn said:
“What dumb creature rests in its valley,
Wise and silent with seven tongues, 65
Each tongue pointed with twenty blades,
Each blade an angel’s wisdom that can raise
The gold walls of Jerusalem and cause
The righteous rood of Christ, the glory-cross,
The truth-sign to shine? Say what I mean.” 70
Solomon said:
“Books are bound with glory—they bode
Good counsel and conscious will.
They are man’s strength and firm foundation,
His anchored thought. They lift the mind 75
From melancholy and the body from pain.”
Saturn said:
“A man who takes a taste of learning
Becomes bold; a man who makes a meal
Of understanding and imagination becomes wise.” 80
Solomon said:
“Books bring a reward to the righteous,
Sustenance and safety to the suffering spirit,
And a safe harbor to the souls who love them.”
Saturn said: 85
“There is a difficult riddle that has teased my mind
Morning and night for more than fifty years
In its mysterious nature—the restless mind,
The sorrowing spirit. Where does it go?
Why does it yearn? Even now I need 90
The Lord to send me a man of learning
To unravel this riddle and teach me the truth.”
Solomon said:
“What you say is true, so let me satisfy
Your deep curiosity with another strange riddle. 95
The Philistines guard a bright, precious bird
In the middle of their borders, circled and surrounded
By a high mountain, a golden wall.
Their wise men believe (but it’s not so)
That an alien enemy will steal the bird, 100
So two hundred sentries watch that wonder
From the north and south on both sides.
The bird has four lifelike heads,
Each the measure of a man’s skull,
The belly of a whale, the wings of a vulture, 105
The feet of a griffin. It’s bound to the earth,
Gazes fiercely, beats its wings futilely,
Rattles its chains, reviles its clutch.
It sings in sorrow, mourns in misery,
Gathers pain and pines in grief. 110
Its struggling limbs will never hold still.
It yearns deeply for the Day of Doom
And fears its wait will be forever
Or nearly ninety thousand years
Before it hears the crack and chaos, 115
The rip and roar, of time unraveling
And arrives at last at the day of doom.
No man in the world knew of this wonder
Before I discovered it. I ordered it bound
Across the sea by the brave son of Melot, 120
Prince of the Philistines, to prevent terror
And protect his people. The far-off leaders
Of the Philistines call this winged wonder,
This strange bird, the Vasa Mortis,
The Vessels of Death, the instruments of doom, 125
That carry mankind on the judgment journey.”
Saturn said:
“What creature walks the world, shaking
Its firm foundations, causing tears
Whenever it comes, waking up sorrow 130
Like a grim wanderer, often struggling
On its way here? No star or stone,
No bright gem, water or wild beast,
Can deceive that creature, escape its grip.
Things great and small, hard and soft, 135
Are in its hands. It feasts on ground-walkers,
Sky-floaters, sea-swimmers everywhere.
Each year three times thirteen thousand
Living creatures walk into its voracious mouth.”
Solomon said: 140
“Old age has power over everything on earth.
In its shackles all living things struggle;
In its endless chains every creature is subdued.
Working its will, it crushes tree,
Rips twig, whips the standing ship 145
In the water, beats it to the ground.
It jaws birds, death-wrestles wolves,
Outlasts stones. It slays steel,
Bites iron with rust, and takes us too.”
Saturn said: 150
“But why does snow fall, covering and concealing
The green ground? It hides heather,
Strangles shoots, freezes flowers,
Winter-withers every good thing that grows,
Catches warm life in a clutch of cold. 155
It often makes wild animals miserable,
Tests and torments them, unlengthens their lives,
Builds a bridge over still waters,
Lakes and streams, breaks walls and gates,
Strides boldly across the land like a warrior, 160
Strikes suddenly, rips branches, robs lives.”
* * *
[Solomon is speaking]
“What is much stronger than the cunning malice
That can lead a man to a land of terror
And heartfelt hatred to the devil’s delight.” 165
Saturn said:
“Night is the darkest weather, need the hardest fate,
Sorrow the heaviest burden—it gathers grief.
Sleep is most like death, a darkening dream.”
Solomon said: 170
“Leaves are green in their short lives;
Later they fade and unburnish to brown,
Find themselves free and floating down
To flake, rot, and mulch the ground.
So too sinners may branch and bloom, 175
Wither and fall even when they feel
Fully alive in the clutch of crime,
Keeping their stolen transient treasures
Concealed in their dark, deceitful hearts
To the fiends’ delight. These evil fools 180
Believe that almighty God, the King of glory,
Will listen to their sad story forever.”
Saturn said:
“Oblivious fools will find in the end
Only oblivion when the sea surges, 185
Swallows the land, sends flesh and flower
To a watery grave at the crack of doom.
God’s thunder shall still all sinners
Who will breathe water and lose life.”
Solomon said: 190
“So the proud sinners will certainly perish,
Those who lead their evil lives on loan.
Time will not wait for anyone in the world.
Your long lost people have made that clear;
They fought like fools against God’s power. 195
Their strength was sapped—their world withered.
I don’t mean to make you angry, dear brother,
But your race was bitter, your culture cruel,
Your power savage. Step back from sin,
Evade that evil, attack iniquity.” 200
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Saturn said:
“Tell me, King Solomon, if you can, what are
The four ropes of fate that bind a doomed man?”
Solomon said:
“Fate is what’s happened, the life a man’s lived— 205
Nothing more, nothing less. These are the four ropes.
Saturn said:
“But when Doomsday comes, who will judge Christ,
When the Lord lines up all of life’s creatures?”
Solomon said: 210
“Who would dare to judge the Lord of light,
Who shaped us from dust, the darkness of earth,
The wound of night? Are you wise enough to say
What things were and what things were not,
Or how something could be created out of nothing?” 215
Saturn said:
“Why can’t the sun shine everywhere at once
Across all of creation? Why does it cast shadows
On moors and mountains, deserts and wastelands?
How can the shade be shaped out of light?” 220
Solomon said:
“So why weren’t worldly goods given out equally?
One man who is eager for spiritual good
Owns almost nothing, but the value of virtue
Remains great in God’s eyes. He will find rest 225
And a home with the blessed because of his merits.”
Saturn said:
“Can you tell me why these two are kept together,
Laughter and tears, such strange companions?
Why do sorrow and joy walk together in this world? 230
Sometimes they undermine the happiness of the worthy
And well-intentioned. How does this happen?”
Solomon said:
“A man is miserable who cultivates grief.
Often he wants to dwell in the dark, 235
Drinking sorrow. God finds this shameful.”
Saturn said:
“Why can’t we all just go forward together
Into God’s kingdom, wrapped in glory?”
Solomon said: 240
“The clutch of fire and the chill of frost,
The heat of sun and cold of snow,
Cannot bear to share the same space.
Each one wants to weaken its opposite,
And the less powerful one must give up its place.” 245
Saturn said:
“But why does the more sinful man live longer
When he gets less respect from family and friends?
Why is evil rewarded while good goes wanting?”
Solomon said: 250
“No man can defer life’s journey for a moment;
Every man moves toward death and judgment.”
Saturn said:
“But how does this happen? A woman gives birth
To a pair of twins. Whether good or evil, 255
They should be the same, but their lives are unlike.
One mopes in misery without many friends;
The other is lucky and makes friends everywhere.
One finds fortune, the other a sad fate.
One gathers grief in a sad, short life 260
And leaves unloved in the grip of gloom.
The other lives long, enjoying generosity—
His life is a gift. I ask you, lord Solomon,
Which of the two twins has the better lot?”
Solomon said: 265
“When a mother bears a child, she never knows
How long he will live or controls his fate.
She will often raise a son to ruin,
A daughter to disaster, and suffer sorrow,
Enduring grief at the child’s dying day. 270
Time and again she will weep bitter tears
From a well of woe when her son wanders
The wide world with a wild heart
And a wicked mind, a miserable man.
Nothing goes his way, the sinner is led astray, 275
Stripped of honor, separated from glory,
Without purpose, without place,
Without family and friends, alone in exile.
Sometimes depressed, he hides out in the hall.
Sometimes he lives without his gift-giver. 280
His beloved lord has turned his face from his fate.
Sometimes he lives like an outcast alone
In a wasteland of woe. A loving mother
Has no means to control his coming and going,
To ensure his happiness, secure his wealth. 285
From birth to death, that’s the way of the world.”
Saturn said:
“But why won’t a man labor in his lifetime
To serve faithfully a lord and leader,
To pursue learning and gain understanding?” 290
Solomon said:
“A wise man seeks to serve a kind lord,
Mighty and merciful, generous and gentle.
He knows his own mind. A fool does not.”
Saturn said: 295
“Why does water struggle and strive
Over all the earth? Why is its fate unfathomable?
It cannot relax by day or rest at night.
It rushes and runs, driven by the desire
To seek some still home at road’s end. 300
It cleanses and christens many of the living,
Refreshing, reviving, bringing them beauty.
Why can’t the stream be still at night?”
* * *
[Solomon is speaking]
“And the power of light is beyond question. 305
It illuminates truth and serves its seekers.
Often it overthrows the devil’s forces
Where wise men are gathered in its glory.
When a piece of food falls on the floor,
A man needs light to seek it out, 310
Find and bless it, salt or season it,
Bite this breakfast and bolt it down.
So too a piece of bread is better taken,
If it’s been blessed in the Lord’s light,
And a man remembers the right rules for this— 315
It’s more sustaining than seven feasts.
Light has the hue and form of the Holy Spirit,
The nature of Christ—often it makes this known.
If a fool holds firelight for too long a time
Without locking it carefully in a container, 320
It may rise to the roof, torching house-timbers,
Blazing the building, burning it down.
It always climbs according to its nature,
Searching for a pathway up into heaven,
Hurrying home to its Father where it all began. 325
This light is visible to any faithful follower
Who carries the Lord’s lantern, the torch of truth,
Because there is nothing living in this wide world,
Neither fish nor fowl, rock nor river,
Mountain nor moor, sea nor stone, 330
Branch nor bloom, on all of middle-earth
That does not belong to the race of fire.”
Saturn said:
“Often I’ve heard in the old days wise men
Disputing and debating another opposition, 335
Fate and foresight, wondering which of them
Was stronger in their relentless struggle
In men’s minds and who would tire in time,
Exhausted by the argument. It’s true, I know,
That the Philistine scholars said in the past, 340
When we sat considering this difficult question
With books in our laps, exchanging ideas,
That no one can fully understand and appreciate
This deep dichotomy or resolve this conflict.”
Solomon said: 345
“The twists of fate are hard to fathom.
Fate finds its own unknown road.
It rests and runs,
sleeps and surges,
Harrows the heart, disturbs the mind,
Hauls in suffering, hands us woe, 350
Inspires fear, fosters pain,
Spawns tears. It haunts our years.
Yet the wise man can moderate the effect
Of fate in a steady mind by keeping calm,
Resisting rage, seeking support 355
From family and friends, finding faith
In the Lord, strength in a godly spirit.”
Saturn said:
“But why does this mighty and terrible fate,
The unfathomable mother, twist and torment us— 360
This origin of evil, the source of sin,
Creator of crime—this mother of mayhem,
Father of depravity, daughter of death?
Why is fate finally the lord of our lives?
It will always bear suffering and sorrow, 365
Weeping and woe. Will it never tire
Of its gruesome task, its grim chaos,
Its endless conflicts, its dark disputes?”
Solomon said:
“In God’s heavenly kingdom, no one wished 370
For fellowship between those two angels,
The blessed and baleful, the pure and proud.
One obeyed God—the other rebelled,
Began through secret craft to shape war-gear,
A sword and standard, an iron corselet, 375
Preaching power to his restive companions,
Making mutiny. That traitor meant
To lay waste to the Lord’s glorious kingdom,
Become the lord of his own unholy half,
Breed with a batch (one-tenth) of angels, 380
Propagate his own proud and perverse kind,
End his suffering and establish himself
In a kingdom of spite. Then the noble Lord
Was a little disturbed by the devil’s plan.
He unleashed the force of his righteous anger 385
And hurled the devil down beneath the earth
And ordered him bound in an underground hell.
These are the fierce forces arrayed against us—
They offer a sword of sorrow to the sinful soul.
Every wise man knows and feels this cruel conflict. 390
When the blessed Lord of all the angels
Realized that some would no longer accept him
As their mighty Mentor, he gathered up the traitor
In his terrible grip and cast him down,
Exiled from glory, into a prison of pain 395
And sent his faithless followers with him.
The children of heaven now lost in hell
Were condemned to suffer eternal agony
In the house of flame. Those rebels realized
That the Lord meant them to live in misery, 400
And they began to mourn. The traitors traded
Heaven for hell, a winter-cold death,
A shroud of suffering, a lake of serpents,
A pit of snakes, a cruel collection
The Complete Old English Poems Page 108