Biþ foldan dǣl fægre gegierwed
mid þȳ heardestan ond mid þȳ scearpestan
ond mid þȳ grymmestan gumena gestrēona,
corfen, sworfen, cyrred, þyrred,
bunden, wunden, blǣced, wǣced,
frætwed, geatwed, feorran lǣded
tō dūrum dryhta. Drēam bið in innan
cwicra wihta, clengeð, lengeð,
þāra þe ǣr lifgende longe hwīle
wilna brūceð ond nō wið-spriceð,
ond þonne æfter dēaþe dēman onginneð,
meldan mislīce. Micel is tō hycganne
wīs-fæstum menn, hwæt sēo wiht sȳ.
Riddle 26
Ophelia Eryn Hostetter
Are certain folds of field
only to be furnished
to their fairness
by the most calloused
and by the coarsest
and by the cruelest
employments men may endeavor?
May she be ferried so far away
to the doors of majesty—
Riven, thriven, ruffled,
shuffled, bluffed, buffed to dry,
bundled, wreathed, sheathed,
woven, cloven, fluttering, shuddering —
all polished up and finished up.
Rapturous ecstasy ever
lies captured inside
for whatever breathes,
adhering and inhering,
for those enduring longest,
enjoying one’s pleasures —
no need to speak ill of it —
and after her death,
she reckons their account,
chattering a thousand ways.
It’s a lot to take in
for the wisdom-thick
what creature she might be.
