God of Eloquence

God of Eloquence

Runes are graven on the sun and on the tongue of Bragi.
He utters shining words forged in the smithy of his silver throat.

He is patron of the skalds who tell the sagas in royal courts,
preserved in Iceland by chieftains of the Viking realm,
inspires poetry in men and offers drink from Bragi’s Cup
that all the earth might be awash in tales of gods, and
and how the world began.

Oaths are sworn on Bragarfull to bear the sacred truth.
Before a king can be the king, he drinks the mead of poetry
from the Promise Cup and is endowed with eloquence
to speak with words that bend the will of those who can not understand.

With his wife and with his words, Bragi stays forever young,
for thought does not degrade, nor wisdom falter
when eternity wears away.

Let us drink a toast with Bragi’s mead, to be endowed with fluency of speech
and skill with words that clothe our images of thought
in inspiration and emotion, that men may hear, and laugh, and weep,
moved by a longing for truth in the everlasting soul.



D. Gary Christian
Santa Clara, Utah
May 24, 2007