In
the land of the north wind, and long snow filled gloom,
when
the sun rises and sets each side of noon.
Around
the fires of the long houses they sit and tell tales.
They
retell Sagas and stories of long boats and sails
of
times long gone when spirits took on solid form
in
the grand hall of Valhalla all cosy and warm.
Of
Odin, his throne and of the hammer of Thor
Of
Tyr’s sword and armour the great god of war
When
Huginn and Muninn Odin’s great ravens soared
And
the naughty step for Melvyn the bored.
In
the school for the gods where knowledge was told
Apprentices
learnt from magicians so old
That
spoke in soft words with monotonous drone
The
pupils would nod off and distraction were prone
In
reception class seven poor Melvyn stayed
For
in none of the exams a good score he made
So
in the same class he is destined to remain
Listening
to the same lessons again and again
As
the teacher talked on in his most boring style
Melvyn
in a miasma slipped out for a while
Huginn and Muninn the
messenger of Odin followed on to see what trouble Melvyn would get up
to this time. They should of told Odin of his escape from school but
Melvyn was a kindly child that stroked Huginn’s rough beak and
smoothed his course feather for Huginn was such a scruffy bird.
Muninn also thought kindly of Melvyn for he loved to listen to
Muninn’s songs and loved the sound of his raucous shrill voice
down to the isle of
Orkney he went
to the old isle of Hoy
where good times are spent
snuggled in a sea cave
feeling content
alas was a cave, fisher
folk would frequent
on hearing the fisher
folk approaching quite near
he hid in a crevice and
stifled his fear
for the fisher folk were
cut-throats and exceedingly queer
grumpy and bad tempered
this time of the year
I hate the winter with
cold and frostbite
long hours of darkness of
long winter night
it's hard catching fish
when there's no light
and there's only a few
nights to fish by moonlight
Melvyn the Bored his
mission was clear
To help the poor
fishermen with customs so queen
To the magnetic north
he’d go when it's all clear
Maybe make the earth
turn slowly extending the year
Melvyn the bored well out
of his stride
Tinkered and fiddled and
botched things beside
he dropped a tool ,and
when it, and the machinery collide
Bright flashes soon lit
up the sky far and wide
Amazed islanders “tis
light” they all cried
Melvyn’s chard body a
smoulder
Saw the bright light over
his shoulder
thought he'd best leg it
if he wants to get older
the light might upset Tyr
or Balder
Back on Hoy to his
delight
The islanders loved these
Northern lights
The sailors tell of them
where ever they went
at least some one was
happy or even content
Odin was not, and in a
rage would bellow
bring me the head of the
troublesome fellow
that set the earth wobble
and turn darkness mellow
Loki god of mischief and
fire a frost giant bedfellow
liked the new colour that
he called yellow
Frigga suspected it was
Melvyn's doing
with the works of the
earth he had been screwing
all out of balance which
needed redoing
so gave the south the light that they were viewing
Odin decreed and so it
was done
a light in the south not
a bright as the sun
it seemed to please most, if not everyone
of Melvyn, the gods he
could not outrun
they caught him and beat him, one by one
