Óðrerir

My left eye is nearly blind

it is staring 

into the other world 

I must accustom myself 

to this light

that makes the colors wrong 

that makes the shadows human

and the humans shadows 

if you’re feeling lost again

you should get busy

sacrificing yourself like Odin 

hung on the branch

of the great ash 

of the world tree, Yggdrasil

because if you want the runes 

to grip in your hands 

you’ll need to shove the spear 

into your side 

to give up the bread of daylight

for nine days

also if you want the water 

of Mimir’s well to drink 

you’ll need to give up

the sight of that eye 

then he’ll dip his horn 

in the well 

for you

our hearts

desire so many things

and we waste our days

begging the gods 

to pour for us 

the precious mead of poetry 

made out of honey and of blood 

which is also 

what we are made of. 

Illustration by Jakob Sigurðsson, an 18th-century Icelandic artist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead_of_poetry#/media/File:Processed_SAM_mjodr.jpg