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þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg !

  kindly refer to notes 

________________________

Earth known today, grown from bomb blown big bang,
one micro second mass, the next thought space,
one moment blast, the next tracked trace apace
stretching tentacles through time to climb
inventing entropy, inviting rhyme.
Confusion/fusion galaxies began
light years across in universal fan
cosmic macro matrix mystery making man
as passing phase whose days are numbered, race
hands torch olympic as unknowns replace
preoccupations most mundane and ban
transient transits, mores and mindsets trashed in can.

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !


Chicxulub Yucatan today, yesterday massive
mega meteor met resistance passive
atmosphere afire annhiliation
extinguished all velociraptor nation.
Capricious crash caused concatenation
creating catastrophic concussation
capacious crater, sun block situation
cloud cover blanket acid precipitation
setback set back clocks to docked age Cretaceous.
Tropical saurian scene rapacious
turned topsy turvy into impassive
volcanic caldera arid dehydration. 

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Retroactive atavistic evolution
appears proscribed by gene switch devolutions
RNA code signals seeking fresh solutions
to challenge cycles living must outpace.
One forward step no backward two's disgrace
in Nature's met, there's no return to base
of man to ape. All life MUST future face.
If earth backtracked fastforward, featured case
study of some sci-fi convolutions
converting climate change to ice-age chase
for rival scenario survival situations,
new strategies from 'would pile' one expects, -
biology all retrograde rejects.

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !


From Dr. Leakey's Lucy deep in rift
mankind for many moons was set adrift
as apple on life's tree which, fallen, sprouted
with speed uncanny, other species routed.
Expanding out of Africa, Near East,
isolate communities would feast
on wooly mammoths thawing on the plain,
domesticating dog, took god as rain,
or sun and stars, subistence farming started
upon cave walls like Lascaux fauna charted.
As centuries reshuffled change's cards,
fate's dice were cast. Discarding flaxen hards
herds' pelts preferred protection from harsh clime
perpetuated man's advance through time.

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Ten plagues by night and day, until Passover,
semite slaves escaping from destruction
then sudden tsunami swallowing pursuit
decimated Pharaoh's force - reduction
fatal for few returned, ruins confute
erstwhile rulers ruing rout en route.
Forty years wilderness, waiting would not suit
wanderers wondering where was  clover,
rewards, milk, honey, harsh fate could refute

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Twentieth century commenced, comet
decimated 80 million trees in Tunguska,
cut considerable swath in tundra
Siberian forests pealing thunder
flashing lightning peeling asunder
fauna and flora with fiery vomit.
World Wars interstitched with profanation
of rich traditions Tidal revolution
beached teachings held sacred. Culmination
cold war climax Soviet capitulation.
Tchernobyl’s nuclear proliferation
sandwiched with influenza, pestilence,
spread tse-tse, malaria, in evidence
heralding dawn of global community
as the Internet networked accesibility
of information, disinformation
and wi-fi instantaneous ubiquity
introduces nanotech singularity.

Disease, capital, transferred migration
of local catastrophes with impunity 
ended epidemic isolation,
exporting disaster, population
upheaval, and evil exploitation.

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Though two legs good, four better, Orwell wrote
while Dr. Moreau for tomorrow's clones
explored cross-breeding and transgender drones
for Huxley's Brave New World, Man's changing coat
from horse hair into techno-logi-colour boat
to sail towards the future fast afloat
on fractal paradigm whose paradox
Pandora's box unlocks, whose furies' shocks
may mean mankind's made merry much too long. Remote
comes closer at accelerating speed,
one head good, two better well may breed
eight tentacles as octopussy seed
eggs 'homo multi-modulus' who bones
may need no longer.  Sapiens recede ! 

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Scop's scope spans centuries succeeding
centuries exceeding aeons' span, reading
between time lines whose causal fractals
flew over darwinopterus pterodactyls.
Despondently inking spondees and dactyls
rhyme wrote itself by rote from root route
to stripling verse twines, creating canopy
where tree, branch, leaf, and seed shoot
combine to sketch etch stretch self-responsive entity -
itself all too well aware of its fragility.
Autonomy, illusory, is linked to mere telomere mortality
within self-referencing frame whose lute
puppet strings echo over two hoot
deaf ears of self-sacrificing society.
Cycle self-feeding, breeding, weeding,
waxing, waning, reining disdaining until ...

Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Upon life's stage man's passing page to cliff
like lemmings speeds while urge to surge uplift
to seed the stars momentum gains, is touted
to use lost lunar water bed undoubted
and spread beyond accepted 'rights and wrongs'.
Blue planet's exodus presumes 'belongs'
refers less to the physical than mind
which still may grow to leave all else behind...

till tomorrow's comet.  From one to the next
wishful-thinking wombs will spill, thrill, react 
to tautological tightrope track
tied taut teaching tendacious tenets, tack
too tempting, theme taken to turn attack
defence mechanisms away from all
hodgepodgeical intellectual semiologioal
insecurities ...    until the next big bang ...Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg !

Author notes

robi3_1929_PSex1_0002 PXX_DJZ

n.b. 14 October 2009 initial draft of what could seed an epic of interesting proportions ... Enjoy !

"Everything passes, everything wears out, everything breaks." - French Proverb "tout passe, tout lasse, tout casse "
Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg ! That passed over; this may too
_____________________


Proto hominid nicknamed Lucy was discovered by Dr. Louis Leakey in the erosion created rift in the Olduvai Gorge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olduvai_Gorge

Darwinopterus http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013201749.htm

Telomere http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telomere
A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from destruction. Its name is derived from the Greek nouns telos (τἐλος "end" and merοs (μέρος, root: μερ-) "part". Part of DNA sequences tend to be lost in every cell replicative phase until a critical level is reached, at which point cell division stops and cell death ensues.

horse hair - in the sense of penitence
hards - rough flax or hemp used as primitive clothing etc.

Chicxulub Crater Yucatan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater

1908 Siberian Comet impact http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event

________

"to use lost lunar water bed " 12 October 2009 LCROSS Mission

http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2009/10/moon-crash-wheres-the-water.html http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2009/10/12/lcross-a-mission-to-hyperspace/


________


Retroactive atavistic evolution proscribed
http://www.physorg.com/news172931418.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Book

The Exeter Book, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth-century book or codex which is an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. The book was donated to the library of Exeter Cathedral by Leofric, the first bishop of Exeter shortly after 1050 A.D.. The tales of Widsith - far-traveller - and Deor are recorded here.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/flowers/exeter.html

Deor is a scop - bard - who has lost his position; to console himself, he recalls famous instances of evil bringing forth good, and after each stanza sings the refrain Thæs ofereode, thisses swa maeg: ‘ That passed over; this may too.’


For further information see links below

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON Rendering
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~enm/deor.htm
Deor

Weland for his skill suffered exile,
the strong-willed hero had hardships to bear,
had as his companions pain and sorrow,
winter-cold exile, and endless griefs,
from the time that Nithhad tied him in fetters,
breaking the hamstrings of a better man.
That passed over; and so may this.

Beaduhild grieved less for her brothers' deaths
than she grieved in her heart for her own hard fate,
when it became clear she was carrying a child;
she could not foresee the uncertain future
or tell if her troubles would turn out well.
That passed over; and so may this.

We have heard of the misery that Maethhild felt
who was wife to Geat, how it grew yet deeper
When her sleep was stolen by sorrowful love.
That passed over; and so may this.

Theodoric ruled for thirty years
the Maerings’ stronghold; many knew that.
That passed over; and so may this.

We have heard too of the wolvish temper
Ermanaric had, who mastered the lands
of the Gothic kingdom; he was a cruel lord.
Wrapped in sorrow and sad at heart,
Many an armed man often wanted
Ermanaric's kingdom to come to grief.
That passed over; and so may this.

A man sits restless, bereaved of joys,
feels sick at heart, secretly thinks
that his share of hardships is over-large.
He may then reflect that through this world
God in his wisdom goes on his way;
a gift of grace he gives to many,
assurance of glory, but grief to some.

I will tell you something true of myself:
the Heodenings employed me as poet for a time,
I was dear to my lord, and Deor was my name.
For many years I held a high-ranking post,
acknowledged by my master, but now Heorrenda,
a man skilled in song, is assigned the lands
the protector of fighters gave first to me.
That passed over; and so may this.


Weland

According to the ON Volundarkvitha, Weland was captured by his enemy King Nithhad, hamstrung, and forced to work as his smith. Weland in revenge killed Nithhad's two sons and 'made bowls out of their skulls, gems out of their eyeballs, and brooches out of their teeth; he presented these works of art to the royal family as products of his smithy' (Malone, p. 5); later he raped Beadohild and flew away (perhaps with the help of a coat of feathers?). The story is illustrated on the eighth-century Franks Casket (now in the British Museum); to see the image, go to http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights.aspx and search for 'Franks Casket'. The image you want is on the front of the casket. The left-hand panel (facing you) of the front of the casket shows Weland as a prisoner in Nithhad’s smithy; the body of one of Nithhad’s sons lies at his feet. Wudga, the son of Weland and Beaduhild, became a great hero; he is also mentioned towards the end of Widsith



Reference http://www.palgrave.com/PDFs/0230007236.Pdf
which quotes only the first stanza in a slightly different variation.


MICHAEL ALEXANDER Translation

Deor

Wayland knew the wanderer's fate:
that single-willed earl suffered agonies,
sorrow and longing the sole companions
of his ice-cold exile. Anxieties bit
when Nithhad put a knife to his hamstrings,
laid cunning bonds on a better man.
That changed ; this may too.

Beadohild mourned her murdered brothers:
but her own plight pained her more -
her womb grew great with child.
When she knew that, she could never hold
steady before her with what was to happen.
That has gone; this may too.

All have heard of Hild's ravishing:
the Geat's lust was ungovernable,
their bitter love banished sleep.
That passed over; this may too.

Thirty winters Theodric ruled
the Maering city: and many knew it.
That went by; this may too.

We all know that Eormanric
had a wolf's wit. Wide Gothland
lay in the grasp of that grim king,
and through it many sat, by sorrows environed,
foreseeing only sorrow; sighed for the downfall
and thorough overthrow of the thrall-maker.
That blew by, this may too.

When each gladness has gone, gathering sorrow
may cloud the brain: and in his breast a man
can not then see how his sorrows shall end.
But he may think how throughout this world
it is the way of God, who is wise, to deal
to the most part of men much favour
and a flourishing fame; to a few the sorrow-share.

Of myself in this regard I shall say this only:
that in the hall of the Heodenings I held long the markarship,
lived dear to my prince. Deor my name;
many winters I held this happy place
and my lord was kind. Then came Heorrenda,
whose lays were skilful, the lord of fighting-men
settled on him the estate bestowed once on me.
That has gone, this may too.

Michael Alexander



STEVE POLLINGTON Translation

Deor's Lament


Welund tasted misery among snakes.
The stout-hearted hero endured troubles
had sorrow and longing as his companions
cruelty cold as winter - he often found woe
Once Nithad laid restraints on him,
supple sinew-bonds on the better man.
That went by; so can this.

To Beadohilde, her brothers' death was not
so painful to her heart as her own problem
which she had readily perceived
that she was pregnant; nor could she ever
foresee without fear how things would turn out.
That went by, so can this.

We have learnt of the laments of Mathild,
of Geat's lady, that they became countless
so that the painful passion took away all sleep.
That went by, so can this.

For thirty years Theodric possessed
the Maring's stronghold; that was known to many.
That went by, so can this.

We have heard of Eormanric's
wolfish mind; he ruled men in many places
in the Goths' realm - that was a grim king.
Many a man sat surrounded by sorrows,
misery his expectation, he often wished
that the kingdom would be overcome.
That went by, so may this.

A heavy-hearted man sits deprived of luck.
He grows gloomy in his mind and thinks of himself
that his share of troubles may be endless.
He can then consider that throughout this world
the wise Lord often brings about change
to many a man, he shows him grace
and certain fame; and to some a share of woes.

I wish to say this about myself:
That for a time I was the Heodenings' poet,
dear to my lord - my name was "Deor".
For many years I had a profitable position,
a loyal lord until now that Heorrenda,
the man skilled in song, has received the estate
which the warriors' guardian had given to me.
That went by, so can this.

Steve Pollington

For Deor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deor
http://www.rado.sk/old_english/texts/Deor.htm




For Widsith

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~enm/widsith.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widsith

See also Beowulf

For Anglo Saxon Text
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a3.20.html


Deor


Welund him be wurman wræces cunnade,
anhydig eorl earfoþa dreag,
hæfde him to gesiþþe sorge ond longaþ,
wintercealde wræce; wean oft onfond,

5
siþþan hine Niðhad on nede legde,
swoncre seonobende on syllan monn.
þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!
Beadohilde ne wæs hyre broþra deaþ
on sefan swa sar swa hyre sylfre þing,

10
þæt heo gearolice ongieten hæfde
þæt heo eacen wæs; æfre ne meahte
þriste geþencan, hu ymb þæt sceolde.
þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!
We þæt Mæðhilde monge gefrugnon

15
wurdon grundlease Geates frige,
þæt hi seo sorglufu slæp ealle binom.
þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!
ðeodric ahte þritig wintra
Mæringa burg; þæt wæs monegum cuþ.

20
þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!
We geascodan Eormanrices
wylfenne geþoht; ahte wide folc
Gotena rices. þæt wæs grim cyning.
Sæt secg monig sorgum gebunden,

25
wean on wenan, wyscte geneahhe
þæt þæs cynerices ofercumen wære.
þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!
Siteð sorgcearig, sælum bidæled,
on sefan sweorceð, sylfum þinceð

30
þæt sy endeleas earfoða dæl.
Mæg þonne geþencan, þæt geond þas woruld
witig dryhten wendeþ geneahhe,
eorle monegum are gesceawað,
wislicne blæd, sumum weana dæl.

35
þæt ic bi me sylfum secgan wille,
þæt ic hwile wæs Heodeninga scop,
dryhtne dyre. Me wæs Deor noma.
Ahte ic fela wintra folgað tilne,
holdne hlaford, oþþæt Heorrenda nu,

40
leoðcræftig monn londryht geþah,
þæt me eorla hleo ær gesealde.
þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!




Even This Shall Pass Away

Once in Persia reigned a king,
Who upon his signet ring
Graved a maxim true and wise,
Which, if held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance
Fit for every change and chance.
Solemn words, and these are they;
"Even this shall pass away."

Trains of camels through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarkand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to match with these;
But he counted not his gain
Treasures of the mine or main;
"What is wealth ?" the king would say;
"Even this shall pass away."

Mid the revels of his court,
At the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried, "O loving friends of mine;
Pleasures come, but not to stay;
Even this shall pass away."

Lady, fairest ever seen,
Was the bride he crowned his queen.
Pillowed on his marriage bed,
Softly to his soul he said:
"Though no bridegroom ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh must come to clay -
Even this shall pass away."

Fighting on a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield;
Soldiers, with a loud lament,
Bore him bleeding to his tent.
Groaning from his tortured side,
"Pain is hard to bear," he cried;
"But with patience, day by day,
Even this shall pass away."

Towering in the public square,
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his statue, carved in stone.
Then the king, disguised, unknown,
Stood before his sculptured name,
Musing meekly: "What is fame ?
Fame is but a slow decay;
Even this shall pass away."

Struck with palsy, sore and old,
Waiting at the Gates of Gold,
Said he with his dying breath,
"Life is done, but what is Death ?"
Then, in answer to the king,
Fell a sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by a heavenly ray,
"Even death shall pass away."


TILTON Theodore 1835_1907 tilt1_0001_PSex1_0002 PXX_EJZ

Last lines two alternate variations - Even this shall pass away

See also : The Complete Poetical Works of Theodore Tilton in One Volume With a Preface on Ballad-Making and an Appendix on Old Norse Myths & Fables. 1897



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Comments

1 - 8 of 8
  • Outstanding

    This brings back all the old english and hours spent trying to translate Beowulf at university. It may interest you to learn that bards such as Homer used repetition frequently to help them with the aural tradition from which poetry begins. For instance, in the Odyssey it begins with the line: dawn comes early with rosy fingers- which is repeated several times through the poem - it is thought that these repetitions gave the poet a breather while reciting and thinking time to remember the next lines. Looks like something similar is going on with the old english.
    This is a strong poem that looks at history and lets you draw your own conclusions. This is your writing at its best - pushing boundaries and taking thoughts in new, often surprising directions. Your writing is always intellectual and challenges the reader. Something I admire.

  • Sorry, couldn't get past the second stanza....it's too long for me...I am sure it is good, but I just don't have the patience.


  • adios muchachos gold member
    October 16

    Edit | Reply

    Robin

    I'll have to pass on this until I have more time on Summer vacation!
    Hope you are well.

    Loupe de mer


  • fiona8 silver member
    October 15

    Edit | Reply
    I absolutly love your juxtaposition/alliteration use, and your ability to keep the meter consistent. This takes a few reads, but is certainly worth it. My compliments.


  • French Tries
    October 15

    Edit | Reply
    A very interesting and skilful demonstration of this universally well-known idea that everything which is will be over as the cycle of life runs. Describing Life in the process of our trying to explain it, which makes it take part of this cycle, into an epic tale or rather epic poetry is fabulous, as if entering a dance in which the refrain would be the moment when other dancers would start dancing in the middle of the circle while the ones who were dancing before would go back into the never-ending circle... which shall be over one day too.
    As usual, your mastery of alliterations, precise vocabulary, rhymes and rhythm enchant the reader, and maintain the dance and the trance...
    This can't be over too, as generations pass generations will be enchanted too.


  • Aedara-Wren silver member
    October 14

    Edit | Reply
    Ah Old English, I find the simple but profound statements in the ancient elegies just so much more moving and significant than some of the melancholy business of today. Probably because that which was going to pass was so much more simple but also because they seemed to be more in touch with that endless cycle of birth and death and life and loss. Somehow I find the idea that 'That passed over so these may too' very optimistic rather than pessimistic, its an acceptance that things must move on as well as hope that bad things will pass as well as the good. The rest of the poem here is obviously in your own personal lyrical style with the rhymes, alliteration etc. which flows so well in most of your poetry. But you've really captured a long history here while binding it together with that one theme, the fact that it will all pass away. I think people should remain more aware of such things rather than sit complacently and perhaps we'd be much happier with what we've got.


  • sinfull
    October 14
    Edit | Reply
    Second reading gains more appreciation for the humor underlying the tale as it progresses. A new form of "circle reasoning"? Where we progress ourselves as we know us right out of existence and in the end are at our own beginning, Big Bang included. . .

  • sinfull
    October 13

    Edit | Reply
    My favorite thing about this pen is that I am forced to get my little pocket dictionary out and actually learn something. (hand to head, she feigns distress)
    A reader should never feel off-put by a poem that contains unknown words or terms, but rather should welcome the chance to expand understanding . Your poem has several I will need to look up! However, knowing what the title means does clarify the message in the verse quite well. I also enjoy a poem that shows the poet stretching their own bounderies. Well done.

1 - 8 of 8