POETRY/NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Beware the Tongue

A poem about the trickster squirrel of gossip

Chalkboard drawing by the author.

O Ratatoskr,
squirrel who scampers upon the World Tree,
Yggdrassil
bringing poisonous words
between the Eagle of Knowledge on high
and Nidhogg gnawing Life’s roots.

How gleeful you are
spitting out the words
in a whisper
that drip into the ears of the two
dwellers of the poles.

Like oil onto glowing embers
to blaze into fires
to scorch the tongues
turn them to ash
for you to wear as your coat.

Your name lies in myth
among the ancient gods
of the North Wind
but you still exist
running between cubicles of colleagues
in dressing rooms
and where wine flows freely
wherever tongues are not tied by mindfulness.