Page:The poetical works of Matthew Arnold, 1897.djvu/135

And all the gods and all the heroes came,
And stood round Balder on the bloody floor,
Weeping and wailing; and Valhalla rang
Up to its golden roof with sobs and cries;
And on the tables stood the untasted meats,
And in the horns and gold-rimmed sculls the wine.
And now would night have fallen, and found them yet
Wailing; but otherwise was Odin's will.
And thus the Father of the ages spake:—
"Enough of tears, ye gods, enough of wail!
Not to lament in was Valhalla made.
If any here might weep for Balder's death,
I most might weep, his father; such a son
I lose to-day, so bright, so loved a god.
But he has met that doom which long ago
The Nornies, when his mother bare him, spun,
And fate set seal, that so his end must be.
Balder has met his death, and ye survive.
Weep him an hour, but what can grief avail?
For ye yourselves, ye gods, shall meet your doom,—
All ye who hear me, and inhabit heaven,
And I too, Odin too, the lord of all.
But ours we shall not meet, when that day comes,
With women's tears and weak complaining cries:
Why should we meet another's portion so?
Rather it fits you, having wept your hour,
With cold dry eyes, and hearts composed and stern,
To live, as erst, your daily life in heaven.
By me shall vengeance on the murderer Lok,
The foe, the accuser, whom, though gods, we hate,
Be strictly cared for, in the appointed day.
Meanwhile, to-morrow, when the morning dawns,
Bring wood to the seashore to Balder's ship,

And on the deck build high a funeral pile,