On Brothers' Love

A poetry anthology on the love and betrayal of two brothers.

Before He Fell

 

Frigga, hark, and tend the mantle.

Tell the tale of tragic scandal.

Ere fate shall loose the gates of Hel,

Tell the tale before he fell.

 

Oaths were sworn in times gone by.

Brothers’ bond, to do or die.

Brothers, once, as now or never.

Break the trust and die forever.

 

There were days in ages past,

Before the Traitor breathed his last,

When gods and men were bound by fate

And brothers’ love was lost to hate.

 

Brothers, once, in battles’ heat,

Ere the days of his deceit.

Brothers lost in battles rage

Could not see the turning page.

 

Fate then picked the traitor’s side,

Which only fueled his growing pride.

None dared hope his hate would fade

When death was dealt by his cursed blade.

 

He could not see his brother’s pain

Nor the men that he had slain.

He knows not what cursed blade shall reap.

He does not know what oaths to keep.

 

Blind is he to brother’s heart

So much so it broke apart.

This last tale is left to tell.

Remember him before he fell.

 

 

 

Abyss

 

Am I cursed?

I never wanted your throne!

I only ever wanted

To be your equal!

We were brothers.

Once.

No more.

Asgard falls.

This is power,

This curse,

This lie,

Everything.

I am nothing more

Than a monster.

A monster

That you created.

Is this what you wanted?

I could have done it.

I am a king.

This is my birthright.

And my curse.

No more.

 

 

  

How can he ever face another?

The trickster god betrayed his brother!

 

 

What Does Not Beat

 

Up and down, over, under

Feel the rage and hear the thunder

Through the realms and in the rain

We understand the depths of pain

The death of kin by traitor’s blade

His brother’s love was left betrayed

Death and blood and hurt and grief

Does not aid his disbelief

Feel the rain and catch the storm

Let him see the traitor’s scorn

What does not beat has no heart

Brothers’ bond was torn apart

Spite of blood and hate of kin

Traitor’s pride from deep within

Cursed blade reaped and death was sown

Damned be prince we called our own!

 

 

  

Brother’s Plea

 

Some have said I should not mourn,

But were we not both brothers born?

Brother once, as once before,

Love you now as once I swore.

 

I care not for the traitor’s brand

Nor the blade that’s in your hand.

Though the truth’s before my eyes,

I’d rather heed your silver lies.

 

What hate has fueled your growing pride?

What blade have you strapped to your side?

Its curse has wrought this grief and pain,

The tears of those that you have slain.

 

No heart have you that’s left to beat

And death you’ve dealt in your deceit.

Deserve you fate and ransom’s scar,

Deserve you mark of what you are.

 

But, brothers once, we fought the tide.

Proud we stood, once side by side.

Now they chain you to a rock

Ere your deeds bring Ragnarok.

 

My blood may not be recompense,

But this world won’t fall for your offense.

I stand not by my sword and shield,

I’ll only fight if you will not yield.

 

What have you left in this broken place?

What hope is there in your disgrace?

The path you chose is a promise made.

Just leave behind that damned cursed blade.

 

I hold hope that my brother lives

As you hold hope the dead forgive.

Just this once, to yourself be true.

Come now, brother, what say you?

 

 

  

Retribution

 

I do not beg your forgiveness!

It is not yours to give.

I have seen things

That you could never imagine

Odinson!

I’ve known pain

That you couldn’t possibly understand!

And I’ve held power,

Life and death,

Secrets and lies

That would make

Thundering gods blaze!

So come on then!

Take it!

Take it all!

Or are you scared

As cowards always are?

Trust my rage,

Brother!

I am a king!

That is my birthright.

I mean to rule

As a benevolent god.

What I have done,

I’ve done in the name

Of freedom.

Peace.

Sanity.

In the name of power

You could never understand.

You are

All of you

Beneath me!

I am a king!

And this is my reign

My war against the gods.

This is my nature.

 

 

 

God of Lies

 

Land of kings and realm of gods

See the traitor face his odds

We are gods by oaths we’ve taken

Oaths that he has now forsaken

Here he stands, destruction’s wake

Bound by bonds no man can break

This is one we called our own

A traitor to the golden throne

His heart is dead, it cannot beat

So falls the traitor to deceit

So bind the traitor to a rock

Ere the fall of Ragnarok

Mark the traitor on his face

Scarred be traitor in disgrace

Traitor’s blood on his cursed blade,

Blood for those that he betrayed.

Let him die or let him live

The blood he spilled we can’t forgive.

Heed him not as Odin’s son

Heed him now for what he’s done

See the hate burn in his eyes

Heed him as the god of lies!

 

 

  

Hope No Longer Exists

 

In the past, we fought each other

I held out hope you were my brother

No longer can such hope live on

My brother now is too far gone

 

How can he still call him brother

When they have both betrayed each other?

 

 

Redemption

 

Do you know

That every breath’s the first

Of the end of my life?

I could tell you all about the stars

That fill the wounded skies

Don’t tell me where the road ends

When no one’s left to take my lies

I just don’t want to know.

This is to one last glimpse of the shadows

And to know a brother’s love

This is for one last gleam of ambition

In the rivers of my blood

This is to all of us

To both of us.

Don’t tell me if I’m lying

Because I don’t want to go.

If I can’t apologize,

Then maybe you should know

It was never just about

The one choice and then I’m out,

Don’t look at all the blood shed

When you’re the king and I am dead.

Don’t tell me if I’m dying.

 

 

 

The one who lies can lie no more.

When this god died, so ends the war!

 

 

  

To Die With Honor

 

Tend the mantle, bring the ember

Tell the tale of oaths remembered

Hail the burning fun’ral pyre

For the god we called a liar

 

Brothers once, played games with fate

And one was lost to bitter hate

Now the war between them ends

The traitor god has made amends.

 

Hail the brother left to live

None can say he won’t forgive

There he stands, though twice betrayed

His life was saved by once-cursed blade

 

Heed his brother’s sacrifice

And let that be his ransom price

The traitor and his beating heart

Had saved his brother from the start.

 

The traitor now has saved his life

The king now holds his brother’s knife.

Redemption’s choice between them made

The price of blood has now been paid

 

Feel his grief and see him mourn

Remember oaths that once were sworn

He saved his life with his last breath

His lost honor returns in death

 

 

  

Brother’s fate between them known

Brother’s ghost upon the throne

Few can know what lies ahead

When one is king and one is dead

Author's Note

Let me know what you think. Honest feedback is always appreciated.