Beowulf, lines 12-25

Beowulf, lines 12-25
Viperine water snake (Natrix maura), Extremadura, Spain. By Charles James Sharp via Wikimedia Commons.

THEN SCYLD HAD A LITTLE BABY BOY

A CUB IN THE YARD, A GODSEND

TO MAKE THE PEOPLE HAPPY

HE HAD SEEN WHAT THEY HAD GONE THROUGH

HOW THEY HAD SUFFERED LEADERLESS

UNENDING

FOR THEM THE BIG MAN

UP IN HEAVEN

WHO CONTROLS WHO BECOMES FAMOUS

MADE BEOWULF FAMOUS

FAMOUS EVERYWHERE

THIS IS HOW A YOUNG MAN MAKES A NAME FOR HIMSELF

THROUGH HIS DEEDS

FOR EXAMPLE

FINE TREASURE GIFTS WHILE IN HIS FATHER’S HOME

THEN WHEN HIS FATHER IS OLD HE COMES BACK 

GOES HAPPILY INTO WAR WHENEVER ASKED

AND ALL HIS PEOPLE ARE HAPPY


Today's lines: