A moment told, A moment old
From lips it comes-the words unfold
A tale of woe and of distress
Upon your ears I bless
One heated day in early morn’
Upon the land the Aesir scorn
A Jotun fiend watched Freya fly
With wretched sneer and lustful eye
He scowled upon her chosen mate
For Od it was that he must bait
But a fool the Jotun surely was not,
As he could see the God’s blind spot
Od traveled far, and if alone
He often took a rest in homes
Of humankind and Aesir alike
So it was then the monster would strike
One evening on the sleepy earth
When wandering Od was thin in girth
He came upon a place to rest
That set a trap for such a guest
The Jotun, clothed in youthful skin,
Beckoned the hungry victim in
He made a feast fit even for Thor
But hidden in it, at the core
A single drop of poison stirred
That only the Jotun man could cure
After Od had eaten his fill,
The Jotun laughed in a voice so shrill
“Od!” He cried, “You have been tricked!
I am no friend: and you are sick!
If you don’t let Freya from your grasp,
Here will be your final gasp.”
“No!” Screeched Od, in all his pain
“My death will only be in vain.
The moment Freya finds me here,
She will shed a golden tear
That brings a curse upon your house
And never will you have a spouse.”
The Jotun growled-he stomped and spat
“You will not win, you filthy gnat!
I will save you from your end,
But a worse fate I’ll gladly send.
I put my eye in place of your own,
So your vision I am shown
If you are to ever see Freya again
I will follow you into your den
Disguised beyond that you can see
A disease upon your wife will be.
She will not last another day
And that will be the price you pay.”
Od wept bitterly and fell to his knees
“Evil, wicked being-please!
Spare my Freya, for I love her so
No matter how my beard shall grow
I will not go back to her side.”
The Jotun was finally satisfied
To this day Od wanders still,
Down in the valleys or over the hills
He wears a blindfold on his eyes
And never looks upon the skies
For never again will Freya he meet,
Though forever he longs to hear her voice so sweet