The Watcher on the Height

Born of nine sisters the daughters of the sea Nourished by the earth and the roots of the tree With teeth cast in gold and an unyielding stare He needs less repose than a bird of the air He listens to the quiet where the shadows creep He hears the green grass rising out of its sleep He hears the wool growing on the flank of the sheep High upon Himinbjörg where the cold heavens meet The burning road of Bifröst lies under his feet He cradles the horn beneath the sacred limb The dawn and the threshold are guarded by him Hail to the watcher the sentry on the height The warden of the rainbow the keeper of the light Heimdall the guardian whose vision never fades The shield on the border against the deep shades When the Gjallarhorn Gjallarhorn sounds through the ash and the stone The gods will awake and defend their high throne He is the first light breaking over the ridge The keeper of boundaries the ward of the bridge A hundred leagues distant his vision can see In the pitch of the black or the sun wandering free The father of classes the shaper of men Who walks in the dust and returns home again No trickster can pass him no shadow can blind The keenest of watchers among all his kind He cradles the horn beneath the sacred limb The dawn and the threshold are guarded by him Hail to the watcher the sentry on the height The warden of the rainbow the keeper of the light Heimdall the guardian whose vision never fades The shield on the border against the deep shades When the Gjallarhorn Gjallarhorn sounds through the ash and the stone The gods will awake and defend their high throne How do you honor the sleepless eyes How do you stand where the borders rise Bring water drawn cold from an unpolluted spring Leave a horn full of mead as the morning birds sing Face toward the sunrise before the skies wake Stand silent and watchful for disciplines sake Offer your vigilance your sharpened mind clear No cowards excuse and no trembling of fear Leave a smooth polished stone on the edge of your land And keep the watch steady with iron in hand Hail to the watcher the sentry on the height The warden of the rainbow the keeper of the light Heimdall the guardian whose vision never fades The shield on the border against the deep shades When the Gjallarhorn Gjallarhorn sounds through the ash and the stone The gods will awake and defend their high throne Hail to the sentry Hail to the goldentoothed Hail to the watcher on the height Hail to the warden of the bridge Hail Heimdall