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Svipdagsmol

I. GROUGALDR

Groa's Spell

  Svipdag spake:
1.[1] "Wake thee, Groa!  wake, mother good!
 At the doors of the dead I call thee;
Thy son, bethink thee,  thou badst to seek
 Thy help at the hill of death."

  Groa spake:
2. "What evil vexes  mine only son,
 What baleful fate hast thou found,
That thou callest thy mother,  who lies in the mould,
 And the world of the living has left?"

  Svipdag spake:
3.[2] "The woman false  whom my father embraced
 Has brought me a baleful game;
For she bade me go forth  where none may fare,
 And Mengloth the maid to seek."

  Groa spake:
4. "Long is the way,  long must thou wander,
 But long is love as well;
Thou mayst find, perchance,  what thou fain wouldst have,
 If the fates their favor will give."

  1. ↑ Svipdag ("Swift Day"): the names of the speakers are lacking in the manuscripts.
  2. ↑ The woman: Svipdag's stepmother, who is responsible for

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