Shadows of the Aesir

Step from the asphalt, the hum of the street Shake off the modern-day dust from your feet No gate is barred here by lineage or skin No hatred, no malice can fester within These halls are not built for the bitter or blind They belong to the seeker of courage and mind Whoever you are, from whatever far shore The shadow of branches hangs over the door Set down your burdens, draw close to the flame And hear how the elder ones answer their name Listen close as the embers burn low in the night The ancient ones wake in the flickering light Welcome, wanderer, into the hall! Where the roots of Yggdrasil shelter us all! Listen and learn what the silence can teach Far past the limits of mortal-made speech! From the high throne of Odin to the cold bed of Hel Hear the raw truth that the shadows will tell! You may know their stories from paper and screen Distorted and twisted in spaces between Forget all the caricatures, strip down the gold These gods are the earth, and the fire, and the cold They bleed and they struggle, they stumble and rise With wisdom paid dearly in blood and in eyes Open your senses, give ear to the wood And stand where the ancestors quietly stood Listen close as the embers burn low in the night The ancient ones wake in the flickering light Welcome, wanderer, into the hall! Where the roots of Yggdrasil shelter us all! Listen and learn what the silence can teach Far past the limits of mortal-made speech! From the high throne of Odin to the cold bed of Hel Hear the raw truth that the shadows will tell!