We, &
By Unknown
Translated By M.L. Martin
ungelīce is us
we are difference
we two islands
the same / different
held fast, that island
surrounded by blood-thirst
husbands there will āþecgan
/hunt
/kill
/ ███
/rape
if Wulf
looks like a wolf
if Wulf’s wolfness
threatens the non-wolves
if Wulf’s ungelīce
is too ungelīc
ungelīc is us
we are different:
Wulf is wolf and not wolf
Wulf is ██████ —
& is they is she is Wulf is you—
when it was dark skies
when only the forest
could keep us alive
when we were two
islands
surrounded by battlefields
& every
thread
of joy
was woven with fear
/anger
/hatred
/mourning
Do you hear that
howling?
A wolf like us
& the joyful
/woeful
/wolf-full
song we make together
is easily tōslīteð
/torn apart
Translated from the Old English
Notes:
Read the translator’s note by M.L. Martin.
Source: Poetry (September 2024)