Bardic Arts

"Brian Dritar an Conn"
by
Francesa the Bemused

Silv'ry silent shape of hound
Across the sunlit down of green;
Relentlessly the wolf is run,
And caught, and scarlet seen.
        Brother hunt with brother,
        Beast claim death of beast:
        Celebrate the hinge of jaws
        And join the victor's feast.
Striding, calm, a pace behind,
Golden brother of the gray - -
He stops, he sees the work, he smiles:
Sunlight's child walks shadow's way.
        Brother run with brother,
        Time claim death of time:
        See them gambol with each other
        In their peaceful prime.
Sunlight, glancing, glints on armor:
Golden brother fights alone;
His foe, his friend, his brother Death
Must glorious keep him from the throne.
        Brother lie with brother,
        Man claim death of man:
        The timeless foe is on the field
        And smiles at mortal plan.
        Brother hunt with brother,
        Beast claim death of beast:
        Celebrate the hinge of jaws
        And join the victor's feast.

From a collection of fighter poems titled Valhalla. This is from the section titled: "Valhalla".

"Long ago, the West Kingdom bards decided to produce poems for every fighter in each crown lists. We carried this on for several years before finally faltering. A large number of bards were required, since the lists kept getting larger and eventually the effort involved wore us out. Even so, we published two volumes of the best of the fighter poems. I was president of the college of bards of the West Kingdom at that time and I regard that effort as perhaps the most satisfying thing I ever achieved in the SCA." -- Steven MacEanruig

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