The Challenge of Thor
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I AM the God Thor,
I am the War God,
I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever!
Here amid icebergs
Rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Miölner the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
Cannot withstand it!
These are the gauntlets
Wherewith I wield it,
And hurl it afar off;
This is my girdle;
Whenever I brace it,
Strength is redoubled!
The light thou beholdest
Stream through the heavens,
In flashes of crimson,
Is but my red beard
Blown by the night-wind,
Affrighting the nations!
Jove is my brother;
Mine eyes are the lightning;
The wheels of my chariot
Roll in the thunder,
The blows of my hammer
Ring in the earthquake!
Force rules the world still,
Has ruled it, shall rule it;
Meekness is weakness,
Strength is triumphant,
Over the whole earth
Still is it Thor's-Day!
Thou art a God too,
O Galilean!
And thus singled-handed
Unto the combat,
Gauntlet or Gospel,
Here I defy thee!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Right. New comment. Sorry, I originally thought poem was by Wordworth, but realize now it's by Longfellow. The author of Hiawatha. I have a soft spot for Longfellow I guess, but really find his work a bit cumbersome. This one kind of reminds me of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown song, "I am the God of Hellfire and I bring you Fire - Da-Da-Dah..."
I love the direct challenge to Christ at the end of the poem. It's good for Christ to be challenged and for him to defend himself. He is a god, after all.
DeeeeeeeeeeMan
Post a Comment