The Eye of Mímisbrunnr
by Elizabeth Barrette

Beneath the broad beams     of Yggdrasil's bole 
The well lies waiting,             its wide waters gleaming,
Where the piercing root         passes down to the primordial plane
Of Ginnungagap where         great dreams still glisten, hidden.

Only Odin the Allfather          dares to open the well
And drink deep of its             darkly glowing draught.
Even his eye as payment      is cheap for ever-flowing insight.
Odin gives it gladly,               Draupnir glinting golden on his arm.

Now the eye nestles              there, seeing all, knowing all.
The eye of a god                   is a grand and glorious thing.
The well holds it                    underwater, under wisdom,
Eternally watchful                  as the world rolls down Wyrd's way.


This poem was written as part of the Poetry Fishbowl project, and sponsored by a patron for publication in The Wordsmith's Forge.

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