The Constant Wife
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 10:31 pm
Hi all,
This is something I posted over at FB, not ME but I thought it might be enjoyed here! I will be getting back to ME soon!
Ken
The Constant Wife
________________________
There came a time when Vagner
looked at his home, and his purse
and decided it was time to go a-Viking
his wife looked at him, her arms crossed
as he took up his gear of war
and outside said he
"Goodbye, wife, to the west our fortures lie.
Wish me luck, if you will."
The wife, her eyes small and fierce, had to say,
"Husbandman, go will you? The field needs the plow,
the forge is cold, who will tend these?"
"Woman", said Vagner, "look at me, what manner of man
do you take me for? I am no farmer, or a tender of
flame, I am a Northman, a wolf of the sea. What good
is iron that grows dull in the scabbard, what good
for growing are hands that have been painted red?"
He looked up in the grey light of morning, where his
children peered down from the loft.
"What will they say to my son one day?
'There goes Ulfi, his father died poor in bed.'
What will they say of my daughter?
'There is Astrid, her father left her no dowry,
a two-goat girl, she is!'
And you, wife, what will they say?
'There is Helga, her husband left her poor,
she works for others.'
This is why I go a-viking,
what honor is there in the poor earth?
"Honor", spat the wife,
"You speak of the cold earth, is the dirt of Angle-land
so dear that you wish to sleep there forever?
Or does Vagner hold himself so lofty
that he does not think that some Saxon mother's son would lay him low.
What good will your battle-sister do you then,
when the Saxon screams for vengeance for his sister-son,
or father's father? The earth is a cold bed, husbandman, is mine to be also?'
Vagner looked to the sea, as if to explain. Then the wife laughed.
"Oh I see!" exclaimed she, "the sea is your wife, and I am but the mistress!
Go to your woman, then, husbandman, what kisses
you must desire, upon the dragonship, cold and wet they must be.
Do you think she will carry you to Angle-land
and not demand her own?
What ruddy-cheeked English maid would want you then, stinking of the sea?"
"I ask you again, husbandman, if you go, who will help me in the field?
Who will tend the forge? Will another take your
place when some oldbeard comes to my door
to tell me you sleep in foriegn soil?"
"Ha!" said Vagner, "better find two then, my wife, to take the place of me!"
"Two!" laughed the wife, "two? My husbandman, if you go and do not return to me,
not one, not two, but three men I shall have to take your place,
and I will name them Morning, Noon, and Night
and they will plough the field that you will not!"
"Woman!" spat he, "are you a constant wife?"
"I am, husbandman, until you do not return to me and our bairns.
Go to Angle-land, die and I will raise a memory stone
to you that says, 'My husbandman died in Angle-land.' For what a poor
song would be made of a man who left his wife only to die by misfortune."
"Woman", growled Vagner, "I will go to Angle-land, and I will make my fortune,
and I will come back, and if I do not then
make my memory stone, and have it say
'he died in Angle-land on an errand for his wife!"
Then he grabbed her, and his kiss was like the first of many.
"Come home a hero, the songs of men praising you, or not at all!" she called to him as he left.
He grunted, shouldering his gear,
"Every time", said he.
The oak door shut, the constant wife leaned against it,
one hand on the door, the other to her lips,
her maidensfire hot again.
"Every time", said she...
This is something I posted over at FB, not ME but I thought it might be enjoyed here! I will be getting back to ME soon!
Ken
The Constant Wife
________________________
There came a time when Vagner
looked at his home, and his purse
and decided it was time to go a-Viking
his wife looked at him, her arms crossed
as he took up his gear of war
and outside said he
"Goodbye, wife, to the west our fortures lie.
Wish me luck, if you will."
The wife, her eyes small and fierce, had to say,
"Husbandman, go will you? The field needs the plow,
the forge is cold, who will tend these?"
"Woman", said Vagner, "look at me, what manner of man
do you take me for? I am no farmer, or a tender of
flame, I am a Northman, a wolf of the sea. What good
is iron that grows dull in the scabbard, what good
for growing are hands that have been painted red?"
He looked up in the grey light of morning, where his
children peered down from the loft.
"What will they say to my son one day?
'There goes Ulfi, his father died poor in bed.'
What will they say of my daughter?
'There is Astrid, her father left her no dowry,
a two-goat girl, she is!'
And you, wife, what will they say?
'There is Helga, her husband left her poor,
she works for others.'
This is why I go a-viking,
what honor is there in the poor earth?
"Honor", spat the wife,
"You speak of the cold earth, is the dirt of Angle-land
so dear that you wish to sleep there forever?
Or does Vagner hold himself so lofty
that he does not think that some Saxon mother's son would lay him low.
What good will your battle-sister do you then,
when the Saxon screams for vengeance for his sister-son,
or father's father? The earth is a cold bed, husbandman, is mine to be also?'
Vagner looked to the sea, as if to explain. Then the wife laughed.
"Oh I see!" exclaimed she, "the sea is your wife, and I am but the mistress!
Go to your woman, then, husbandman, what kisses
you must desire, upon the dragonship, cold and wet they must be.
Do you think she will carry you to Angle-land
and not demand her own?
What ruddy-cheeked English maid would want you then, stinking of the sea?"
"I ask you again, husbandman, if you go, who will help me in the field?
Who will tend the forge? Will another take your
place when some oldbeard comes to my door
to tell me you sleep in foriegn soil?"
"Ha!" said Vagner, "better find two then, my wife, to take the place of me!"
"Two!" laughed the wife, "two? My husbandman, if you go and do not return to me,
not one, not two, but three men I shall have to take your place,
and I will name them Morning, Noon, and Night
and they will plough the field that you will not!"
"Woman!" spat he, "are you a constant wife?"
"I am, husbandman, until you do not return to me and our bairns.
Go to Angle-land, die and I will raise a memory stone
to you that says, 'My husbandman died in Angle-land.' For what a poor
song would be made of a man who left his wife only to die by misfortune."
"Woman", growled Vagner, "I will go to Angle-land, and I will make my fortune,
and I will come back, and if I do not then
make my memory stone, and have it say
'he died in Angle-land on an errand for his wife!"
Then he grabbed her, and his kiss was like the first of many.
"Come home a hero, the songs of men praising you, or not at all!" she called to him as he left.
He grunted, shouldering his gear,
"Every time", said he.
The oak door shut, the constant wife leaned against it,
one hand on the door, the other to her lips,
her maidensfire hot again.
"Every time", said she...
I was inspired by reading an article that said some wives of the Northmen would goad their husbands to go a-viking because they wanted stuff 