20170831.0430

Against Oðoæster, they fell
In a list too long to names tell,
For such was his skill
That they all fared ill
Who faced him; his fight, their death-knell.

20170830.0430

First, they sent against him swords
That had fought their way up from the hordes,
Proving their skill
And driving the will
Of conscripts into one accord.

20170829.0430

At length, the foe's spear command
Learned that against him few could stand
Of those gathered in
but to save their kin,
And so the foes against him planned.

20170828.0430

Gladly, he'd enter the fray
That faced him by night and by day;
The strength of his arm
Brought many to harm
As he all around him would lay.

20170827.0430

Against conscripts armed but with spear
And driven to die from the rear
Oðoæster went,
For he was there sent,
And through spear and wielder he'd shear.

20170826.0430

So Oðoæster went to fight
And battled by day and by night
Slaying each foe
So all ‘round would know
The sprawling extent of his might.

20170825.0430

Facing the choice, the man said
That he would consent to be led
And try himself out
To erase all doubt
Of his valor and his lack of dread.

20170824.0430

If Oðoæster would, instead
Consent by the clerk to be led
To fight a new foe,
Then he might well know
Glory heaped upon his head.

20170823.0430

He warned him that if he again
Raised his hand to him, he would end
Not only his life
But he would put to strife
The village he thought to defend.

20170822.0430

The clerk stepped aside from the blow,
Deftly avoiding the show
Of force there presented
And that he resented,
But seeing in it much to grow.

20170821.0430

To him Oðoæster said back
That he would sustain an attack
On his person gladly,
But on his honor badly,
And made to give the clerk a whack.

20170820.0430

A fight done alone may be brave,
But action alone cannot save
From depredation
A desperate nation
From being sent into the grave.

20170819.0430

The clerk replied, grinning, and said
That wild beasts, often unfed,
May be fierce indeed,
But they did not need
A beast slain, but folk to be led.

20170818.0430

Oðoæster spoke of the bear
That had beset his village fair
And how he had fought
The creature that sought
To cast his folk into despair.

20170817.0430

The clerk who the tent occupied
Looked at the one who to him hied
And asked why he said
That he had not fled
When he’d yet to battle abide.

20170816.0430

Himself, Oðoæster proclaimed,
Calling him as he was named
And noting his town,
Where he had renown,
And saying he would not be shamed.

20170815.0430

At length, he arrived at the tent
To which all newcomers were sent,
Their to themselves give
So that others might live,
Or so it was said to those spent.

20170814.0430

Oðoæster was ill as he passed
By carnage that left him aghast,
But his heart he steeled
As he crossed the field
Where so many had breathed their last.

20170813.0430

He arrived at the front of the war
And saw that which he’d not before
Envisioned in dream,
That which makes folk scream
In horror, shakes them to the core.

20170812.0430

Those made to fight often died
In terror and pain. People cried
To find some release,
But the war would not cease,
And Oðoæster to war hied.

20170811.0430

The rulers around went to war,
Though none know what all they fought for,
And, as is oft the case
In a war-fighting place,
The land was soon bestrewn with gore.

20170810.0430

Many other deeds he had done
Since he with the bear had begun.
In just the next year,
There was more cause for fear
For the people of whom he was one.

20170809.0430

Soon, the bear upon him came,
And he did his first deed of fame.
He fought 'gainst the beast
And left it deceased,
And in doing so, earned some acclaim.

20170808.0430

Oðoæster watched his people flee
From a threat that was easy to see,
But he looked around
And, alone, stood his ground
Awaiting the bear with great glee.

20170807.0430

One steel-clad man thought to fight
Against that great bear in the night,
But he could not stand,
And his blood soaked the land,
And the people thought themselves in plight.

20170806.0700

It frothed at the mouth as it came,
And some from it fled without blame,
For it was a beast
Of some ten feet, at least
And from it much dreadful noise came.

20170805.0430

As a mere boy, the man had
Done deeds to make his family glad,
First slaying a bear
That had wandered where
It ought not and where it was not bade.

20170804.0430

The man, Oðoæster by name,
Did much across years to earn fame.
Beginning in youth
And extending, in truth,
For many years, he bore no shame.

20170803.0430

Yet still some account must be made
Of the name that he earned with his blade,
For context will matter
Despite how some natter;
The story in setting's portrayed.

20170802.0430

Of his exploits, a great deal is said,
Much is written, and so much is read.
Of the truth, they fall short,
For no kind of report
Can convey a fitting kind of dread.

20170801.0430

The man once had been widely known
Before he had there made his home
As a fighter mighty,
And he was still sprightly,
Although he no longer did roam.