trobaire.org

a collection of literature from poets, bards, songwriters, and skalds in the SCA

Gulf War Drottkvaett

blackbow
Poem (Canso): 
Bitter wind is freezing
wailing through the marshes
warriors guard their women
women ward their charges.

Troll-booth tied up Wednesday
Tolls are slowly taken
line to no one's liking
look, new friends we're makin'!

Pushed too near its boundaries
Patience, perfect virtue!
"let us in, gate keeper!
Let us in, we beg you!"

Icy grip of winter
wearing out its welcome
"here too long" we grumble
huddled in our hotel.

Luckless campers cluster
look through windows, gathered
begging, pleading, bribing
"see them! They have showered!"

Bytor's brought a longboat!
Brakes don't work, but dandy.
Guess we should have told him
Get a Ford, not Chevy.

Merchants whine at weather
"who wants summer clothing?
fans we brought to sell here
fans look just like kindling!"

Food for sale from vendors
hot food briskly selling
steaming, smoking, spitting
sausage, rolls, good-smelling!

Castle breach is finished!
Catches soldiers off-guard
Sucks them in and spits out
sausage meat in courtyard.

Weather warms as days pass
'ware high pressure system!
Warming weather should bring
women back - we missed 'em.

Resurrection battle
brings a close to Gulf Wars
weary people watching
vict'ry for Trimaris.

Documentation / Explanation (Razo): 

This piece is pretty self-explanatory. I was there, it was cold, we lost, and all I did was to attempt to put it to something that sounded vaguely like a drottkvaett rhythym. Rather than tell the story of the entire war, i.e., the Saga of the War like the documentation would have you believe all the Viking poems are written for, or to, or whatever, I wrote specifically about what I saw, with a little verisimilitude thrown in. There’s not much else I can say about this one without a specific question.