For Bjarn and Orlaith on the Occasion of Their Wedding

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, June 26, 2015

Bjarn food-finder                    Orlaith oath-singer

Hungers for more                    Weaves her way brightly

Odin’s-hand gifted                 Freyja’s most loved

Handler of hunt-beast             Sky-mead maiden

Raven-feeding warrior            Valkyrie striding

Bound now together               Bound now forever

Praised by skald singing         Avowed by the Althing

Two wolf-hearts one               One heart beats on

Written in the style of a Norse poem without following the conventions of any style in particular.

For Korigan and Helen upon the Occasion of their Wedding

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, May AS 50 (2015)

When love binds hearts and friend to friend are one,

And vows are said and seen by kith and kin,

With hands tied fast beneath officiant’s grin,

Then love o’er hate the day has brightly won.

With vow to spouse, daughter proud, and son,

The lovers stand united midst glad din,

And on the floor they gleeful, playful, spin;

So sweet the kiss that can not be undone.

Written as an English octave. In English, an octave consists of 8-lines of iambic pentameter (while in Italian would be hendecasyllabic). The most common rhyme scheme for an octave was abba abba, which is what I used here.

The first line of the second stanza refers to the fact that Korigan and Helen did not just make vows to each other, but also to their children, making them part of the proceedings and further binding them together as a family. It was very touching.