Part 1: Storofshvoll, Iceland 1855
Part 2: HIS LORD IS BURIED IN THE DARKNESS OF THE EARTH
1The Wanderer begins to tell his tale
2Sorry-hearted, he moves along the waterways towards the ice-cold sea
3Seeking those who knew his kinsmen, and could give him comfort
4For his friends have been slain within their mead halls
5Carried away by wards and wolves and ravens
6Regret and sorrow, cruel companions to the friendless
7Where now is the horse, the young rider?
8Where now the seats at the feast, the revels in the halls?
9Where the companions, forced to leave this middle-earth?
10Each days brings new desertion and decay to the walls of the city
11The weapons thirsty for slaughter
12His spirit separated from the bounty of the earth
13He is bound by sorrow
14The counsels of his lord have been lost to him
15Time passes under cover of the night
16And in sleep he lays his head upon the knees of his lord
17Who was his gift-seat and his throne
18The path of exile has twisted him like gold
19And bereft him of his homeland
20Alas for the bright cup, and the splendour of his prince
21Alas for the mailed warriors who have been put to the sword
22He ponders deeply on the darkness of his life
23On men buried, dreich-faced, into the earth
24And how cruel are the wounds of his heart
25And how he longs for the good times past
26The friendless man awakes and sees before him the fallow waves
27The rocky cliffs, where sea birds bathe and preen
28And knows that frost and hail and snow are coming from the north
29That the hall walls will soon be swept by storm and frost
30And how terrible it will be when all has gone to waste
31But the wise man keeps secure the mind-chest of his thoughts
32And those who are eager for glory do not boast
33Are patient, and never weal and reckless
34Because soon comes storm and darkness
35When all that is fleeting is turned to waste
36Becomes a land bereft of the noise of its citizens
37When the men who sought malice seek now only mercy
38And the permanence of rest
39So spoke the Wanderer, the wiser man, as he ended his lament