The Complete Old English Poems
Page 26
How was I unmade from my original self?
Where has my goodness and glory gone? 200
Where is my place in God’s holy purpose?
I’ve learned a hard lesson: Whoever refuses
To listen to the Lord, the King of heaven,
Will discover the darkness of love’s loss
And be dispossessed of eternal delight. 205
I have found pain and punishment in this prison,
Hard torment because of my wicked ways,
My malicious words, my malevolent works.
I thought that to thrive, I needed to force
My lord from his throne. I lost my home. 210
Now I must wander a wasteland of woe,
Enduring the agony of an exile’s road.”
Then God’s ravenous foe passed into hell
With his rapacious thanes, grim and greedy.
So every man on middle-earth should be mindful, 215
Every woman in the world be equally prudent,
Not to provoke the powerful Son of God,
That radiant Prince, to righteous anger.
Let us learn from the lesson of Satan’s fall
And the dark despair of his monstrous minions, 220
Expelled from heaven for their rebellious pride.
Let us take as our delight the humble host
Of exultant angels singing praise-songs to God,
Surrounded by bliss in the Lord’s embrace.
He made his power and purpose known 225
When he banished forever those satanic angels
From their home in heaven to a prison of pain.
Remember that he is the radiant Lord
Of all beings. No one exists outside
God’s grasp. We should reach for that radiance, 230
Aspire to achieve a homeland in heaven
With the King of kings, who is called Christ.
Let us bear in our hearts happiness and love,
Let us bear in our minds truth and wisdom.
Let us lead our lives in the Lord’s law, 235
Carry ourselves with the spirit of compassion,
Tending to the helpless, hoping in turn
For the Maker’s mercy as we bow before
His judgment throne. A man must live
In this earthly realm with his mind on God, 240
So his soul will shine when he seeks his home
With the angels in heaven, that precious land
Blooming with beauty, fragrant with fruit,
Radiant with bliss throughout the cities.
That world is woven with Christ’s compassion, 245
The weft of creation. Let us return to our home
Where saints and angels stand by the throne
Of the living Lord, the Son and Savior,
Where each bright being praises the Prince,
Each blessed soul is a spiritual celebration 250
Of words and works to the glory of God,
So the light of grace may gather and shine,
An exultation of bliss through all eternity.
I’ve heard that the fiends finally admitted
That their pain and punishment were hard to bear. 255
They had given up glory in their great pride.
Plagued with exile, they said in spite:
“It’s clear that we sinned against God in heaven.
Now we must suffer strife, waging war
Against the powerful Prince of unfallen angels. 260
We lived in the light as long as we were willing
To obey the Lord, raising celestial hymns
To his perfect glory like thousands of thanes
Surrounding his throne in fearful fealty.
We heard hosannas, the sound of trumpets, 265
The symphony of the blessed in unbound delight.
The radiant Word arose, the Author of angels,
And all the saints bowed to the Victory-king.
The eternal Lord with his beloved Son
Rose up before us, blessing the host, 270
While we bowed below. God himself presided,
Ruling with his Son, showing mercy to those
Whom he met at the gates, who believed in his mission,
And were faithful followers in their lives on earth.”
[Then Satan said:] “It irked the angels 275
That this Prince was stern, righteous and resolute,
So I confronted them all, speaking these words,
Artlessly assuming a reasonable rage:
‘I can offer you considerable craft and counsel,
The gift of persuasion if you trust my power. 280
Let’s renounce this lord, relinquish his rule,
Find faith in ourselves, create our own company,
Rejoice in the richness of our own ideas,
Find radiance in our unfettered imagination.
Let’s rise up and rebel against this unbending tyrant, 285
And stuff his brash boasts down his dying throat.’
So we brashly decided to drive the Lord
From his precious home, his noble stronghold,
And ended up exiles inhabiting the abyss.
He keeps that heavenly kingdom for himself. 290
He alone is the King, the eternal Lord,
Creator of all who became angry with us.
Now this host of once glorious angels
Must grovel in hell, a grim reward
For our proud rebellion. Some fly upward, 295
Dark flames in the air, searching eagerly
For the souls of sinners who desperately hunt
For heaven’s door. These we bring down
To the gates of hell for a grim greeting,
A hard welcome home to the wicked, 300
But we cannot touch the blessed souls
Of the good and faithful who are dear to God.
Some of us are mustered to roam middle-earth—
Stirring up strife, fostering feud.
Sick in this hell, I suffer eternally 305
For the war I waged. I have traveled far
From faith to fury, brightness to bale.
I feed on malice and taste the bitter bile
Of my own unbecoming. My world is woe.
Will God ever welcome us home in heaven, 310
Give us a piece of that glorious kingdom,
Some land to possess, as he did before?”
So God’s fallen angels, now his fierce foes,
Lamented their loss. Christ blasted those demons
From bliss for their blasphemies in his righteous wrath. 315
So people who hold goodness in their hearts
Should guard against sin, malevolence of mind,
Wickedness of works. Remember the power
And purpose of the Lord and build a green path
To a heavenly paradise where virtue is verdant. 320
The Son will embrace us with eternal light
If we trusted in him while we were here on earth.
He will never leave us but offer us life
On high with the angels in that heavenly city.
The Lord will lead us to a holy stronghold, 325
A radiant refuge with bright walls.
The blessed souls, freed from sorrows,
Will shine in that city, circling God’s throne.
Let us proclaim this to everyone on earth!
We should always be mindful of God’s mysteries, 330
Live our lives so we can unlock the secrets
Of his spiritual treasures, understand and accomplish
His purpose. Then a thousand angels will greet us
At the gates of heaven to welcome us home
If we deserve this through our lives on earth. 335
Those who are blessed in the eyes of God
Warp no words, work no wickedness,
Savor no sin. So the Lord has said:
&nbs
p; “The righteous shall shine, robed in radiance
Like the everlasting sun in their Father’s kingdom.” 340
The blessed will be borne homeward to heaven
In the shielding embrace and exaltation of angels,
Forever and ever in the arms of the Lord.
Unfortunately, the fiend, old Satan himself,
Ignored this advice, resolving to rebel 345
Against our Father. He carried no comfort
As he plunged into hell where the floors were flaming,
Where fiends tore wailing through the halls
With venomous tongues and slashing claws,
Where all the wicked ones were fiercely burned, 350
Their spirits blasted by the black winds of woe.
Their once-proud prince was bound in prison—
He felt the heat. His faithless followers,
His dreadful thanes, were locked in loss.
This was the demons’ house of dread. 355
They were deaf forever to the angelic hymns
In God’s heaven, their innocent joy
Eternally lost. They embraced sin
And discovered hatred in the arms of the abyss.
They live in loathing, exiled from joy, 360
Singing no song except lamentation
Over the hideous sound of gnashing teeth:
“We have no hope except ice and fire,
No purpose but pain, no friends but fiends,
No gentle touch except that of serpents, 365
The spite of adders, the rancor of dragons.”
All anyone can hear for miles around
Is shrieking sorrow. They turn in torment,
Exiled from glory, lost in flame,
They remember and regret their ravenous dream 370
Of stealing the throne in the Savior’s kingdom.
Their proud rebellion proved a fool’s errand
Because the Son sent them downward to doom.
No sage is so wise, no counselor so knowing,
Save God himself, that he can comprehend 375
How the Lord’s light shines over his blessed host,
Radiant in the realm of blessed heaven.
There angels exult in an epiphany of joy,
Saints sing an endless hallelujah of hymns,
The blessed arise bearing beautiful blooms, 380
The flowers of faith and fragrant herbs,
The words of God. He embraces them all
And leads them to light where they live forever
In the city of God, the heart’s homeland,
Followers of the Savior, bathing in bliss. 385
That perfect reward is worth pursuing.
That fallen angel I’ve mentioned before
Was once called Lucifer or Light-bearer
When he lived in the Lord’s kingdom.
Then he discovered a dark arrogance, 390
Pure pride, and stirred up strife,
Waging war against God in heaven.
That angel of evil, now known as Satan,
Thought he could have his own godly throne.
He lusted to be the sole lord of light 395
But regretted that sorely when he slipped and fell
Into deep disgrace, the humiliation of hell,
Sent into shame beyond rescue
By the righteous wrath of the Son and Savior.
The fallen angels were never allowed 400
To gaze on God’s face, Christ’s countenance,
Except when the Judge came to harrow hell,
Shattering the doors with a terrible din,
Blasting the grim gates. That brought bliss
To the mortals there when beyond the flames 405
They saw the Redeemer’s radiant face—
Its beauty seemed better than Satan’s hideous
Grimace and growl. All of the hell-demons
Twisted in terror in their heat-swept home.
Cowering in fear, they wailed these words: 410
“This attack is unfair since the Prince of angels
Comes like a warrior with the soldiers of God.
He leads with a light more radiant and ravishing
Than any we’ve seen outside of heaven,
Our old home. He has an army of angels 415
To deliver our doom. He may untwist torment,
Unwind wrath, unmake misery
For many good souls, saints and patriarchs,
But not for us. He will sustain our suffering
While saving souls, feed our flames 420
While freeing the blessed. We’ll feel forever
A hideous shame from his righteous wrath.”
Then the Lord and Creator entered into hell,
Seeking to save the faithful from the fire,
The good ones who had gone before, 425
In his might and mercy leading thousands
Of mortals to a better, brighter homeland.
Suddenly the sound of angels exulting
Shattered the dawn—Christ had conquered
The fierce king of hell, the fallen fiend. 430
His might was manifest, his power plain.
He opened the way for the blessed souls,
Lifting up those parents exiled from paradise,
Adam and his kin. But Eve could not look
Directly at heaven until she confessed, saying: 435
“I once angered you, eternal Lord,
When Adam and I, through the serpent’s spite,
Ate the apple, tasting the forbidden fruit
As we should not have done. We drank doom.
Satan seduced us, that hideous demon 440
Who is now forever bound in flames.
He promised that paradise would always be ours
To rule as we wished, full of the fruit
Of our deepest desires. We trusted his guile,
His twisted truth, and took the bright fruit 445
From that holy tree, tasting not freedom
But sin and death, enduring exile,
And reaping the torment and terror of this place
Which is no paradise. That drink was bitter
To the last dregs. We lived in the sulfurous, 450
Hot pit of hell for thousands of years,
An almost-eternity, scourged with flame.
Now I beg you, Keeper of the kingdom,
Leader of this glorious host from heaven,
This band of angels, unfallen, unconquered, 455
That I may be permitted to rise up from here
With Adam, our family, our precious descendants.
Three days ago a follower of the Savior,
A turncoat and traitor, was thrust into hell.
Now he’s bound in flames, lost in misery, 460
Because of his arrogance and God’s anger.
He told us the truth—that the Lord himself,
The King of glory, would descend into hell
To bring us light and lead our kin,
The inhabitants of agony, to a happier home. 465
Then we lifted our heads, leaning on our arms,
Knowing that in spite of our endless torment,
Our unbounded terror, the Lord was coming
To heal our hearts and carry us home.”
Then Eve reached out her rueful hands 470
To the King of heaven, praying for mercy
Through Mother Mary, her own descendant,
Beseeching the Son and Savior of mankind:
“Lord, you were born through my own daughter,
Generations down, to deliver mankind. 475
Now this miracle is made manifest to all—
That you are the Lord, the Son of God,
And God himself, almighty, eternal,
Shaper and Sustainer of all creation.
Have mercy on me and carry me home.” 480
Then the eternal Lord gathered them up
A
nd let them ascend. He had fixed Satan
And the rebellious angels forever in hell,
Where the miserable fiends, forcibly humbled,
Found their peril in that profound darkness. 485
They traded heaven’s light for hell’s gloom,
A blissful paradise for a prison of pain,
Where they’re stuck forever without recourse.
In his righteous anger, God gave them a reward
Of exile from grace and endless agony, 490
A home of horror in the blazing abyss,
Forever stalked by the shadow of death.
There was bliss unbounded when the great host
Arrived in their homeland, the fortress of the faithful,
Led into heaven by the Lord of mankind. 495
The holy prophets, the kin of Abraham,
Lifted up the Lord, exalting Christ,
Who had conquered death, harrowed hell,
Put the fiend to flight. Prophets had foretold this.
When he blasted the doors of hell before dawn, 500
The sky cracked like heavenly thunder—
Christ was coming. The hinges of hell
And the demons’ bones grew fearfully weak
In the hard radiance of the Lord’s light.
Then the first-born Son of God sat with them, 505
Addressed the gathering with true words, saying:
“Wise spirits, by my might I made you—
First Adam and then this noble woman, Eve.
Through God’s will, they begot forty children,
So that multitudes were born to inhabit this land, 510
Though the plan for a home in paradise was undone.
That terrible hell-fiend sought them out,
Seducing them subtly, snaring them in sin
Through his wicked guile. That angel was guilty
Of a terrible crime. In paradise I had planted 515
A perfect tree with branching boughs,
Full of bright but forbidden fruit,
The apples the two of you ate, as the devil urged.
Their taste was sweet as death’s ashes,
And you were both banned from paradise, 520
Eventually enduring the fiery abyss,
Because you ignored the Savior’s word,
And listened to Satan, who poisoned your thoughts.
I lamented that my handiwork had to endure
The bondage of work, the pain of birth, 525
The sin and separation, the agony of hell.
Neither human power nor angelic strength,
Neither sage’s wisdom nor hero’s courage,
Could save you then—only God the Savior,
Who had set the law and laid down the punishment 530
Before the sin, before the fall, and who came afterwards
To the human world from his heavenly home
Through the doors of delivery, a woman’s womb,