She was hung upon the tree
Three times three times three
So her mother didn’t have to her unwanted child see
So the other children could hurl spear insults with glee
So men could do as they pleased while she couldn’t fleeShe was hung upon the tree
Three times three times three
For the crime of not stifling her curiosity
For the crime of speaking out against bigotry
For the crime of being different as all could seeShe was hung upon the tree
Three times three times three
For the sin of searching creativity
For the sin of reading witchery
For the sin of speaking knowledgeablyWhen the God of the Hanged saw a woman tested on the tree
©RedCat
Three times three times three
Fjolnir sang one of the magic song to set her free
The One Eyed taught her how to truly see
Wayfinder showed all the ways on land and at sea
Forni taught her the world’s history
Ygg showed her the secrets of the tree
Glapsvid taught her spells to once more happy and healthy
Odin showed her the runes to unravel every mystery
The All Father gave her mead to awaken her poetry
This painting gives me shivers. Has every time I look at it. So today’s choice was a foregone conclusion.
And for some reason it led me to thinking about the very debated part of the Edda poem Hávamál (line 138-145), where Odin sacrificed himself to himself, wounded by a spear, hanging on the world tree Yggdrasil for nine nights to be able to gain greater mystic knowledge from the magic runes.
So I read about Odin in my Poetic Edda copy, and read through what I could find online including a scholastic article from 2014. (You can find it here, but it’s in Swedish.)
Then, as I tend to do I made the story my own!
The last stanza contains nine different names for Odin.
To see all art and read all poems for today go to The Wombwell Rainbow.
This is also the poem I plan to read at tonight’s dVerse Open Link Live. The price of admission is a poem written by you. But if you rather not read and just listen that’s fine too.
See you there!
Jane Cornwell likes drawing and painting children, animals, landscapes and food. She specialises in watercolour, mixed media, coloured pencil, lino cut and print, textile design. Jane can help you out with adobe indesign for your layout needs, photoshop and adobe illustrator. She graduated with a ba(hons) design from Glasgow School of art, age 20. She has exhibited with the rsw at the national gallery of Scotland, SSA, Knock Castle Gallery, Glasgow Group, Paisley Art Institute, MacMillan Exhibition at Bonhams, Edinburgh, The House For An Art Lover, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Compass Gallery, The Revive Show, East Linton Art Exhibition and Strathkelvin Annual Art Exhibition. Her website is: https://www.janecornwell.co.uk/
April Ekphrastic Challenge – GloPoWriMo 2021
- 1 April – Dark Orchid
- 2 April – A Dirge for the Drowned
- 3 April – Granddaughters of Red Riding Hood
- 4 April – Raven Dream Flight
- 5 April – It’s Spring Time Again and The Sweetest Wine – A Quadrille
- 6 April – There Once Was A Cat and To All The Good Girls
- 7 April – Mind Finds Soul Fearlessly Shines
- 8 April – Trapped, Imprisoned In Her Own Mind – A Triple Triolet and Ode To My Dream Girl
- 9 April – The Aurora Butterfly – A Sonnet
- 10 April – The Dawn Sky Is Ethereal Blue – A Triolet
- 11 April – Blue Forest Of Remembrance
- 12 April – Incantation to Bau-Gula – A Sonnet
- 13 April – The Stars Are Out Tonight – A Villanelle and Cat Searching High and Low
- 14 April – Shadow People Before My Eyes – A Triple Triolet
- 15 April – Three Times Three Times Three
- 16 April – Autumn feast – A Sonnet
- 17 April – In The Badger Sett
- 18 April – Hellcat
- 19 April – Life Lessons and No Bother! – A Quadrille
- 20 April – Fairy Dust Magic – A Trio Of Ovillejo’s and Crows Calling At Night
- 21 April – Polished Mirror Women – Dedicated to Marisol
- 22 April – Word Salad and A Beltane Song
- 23 April – Floating Around Everywhere and Oh Bother! – A Quadrille in Ovillejo Form
- 24 April – A Thousand Paper Cranes
- 25 April – Change and Restless Body and Mind
- 26 April – Through Hell
- 27 April – Weaving Web and Another Piece Of The Puzzel – A Puente Poem
- 28 April – Sounds In The Wind – A Puente Poem
- 29 April – Fire That Burns Away All Fears – A Sonnet and Blackbirds Dusk Sings
- 30 April – Star Prayer – A Sonnet
The world according to RedCat 
Reblogged this on The Wombwell Rainbow.
Being a little familiar with mythology I jumped at the mention of Odin! Incredibly powerful write, Helene 💖 and such a pleasure to hear you read at the LIVE Event.
I just love when writing poetry involves delving into our mythological roots and making their stories our own. Nicely done! J
I love love love this poem three times three times three. The living hells are noticed by the almighty and balanced out. I knew what hindu gods number in the thousands but I did not know Odin had so many names. Great to hear you read this tonight also, Helene. It gave the poem that much more power.
That painting gives me the shivers, too, Helene, and it’s an excellent choice to accompany your exploration of mythology and crimes against women, particularly those who refuse to conform. You too seem to have been influenced by Silverstein’s rhyming, but it gives this poem a sinister ring.
This is a magnificent poem, and you gave a fantastic reading. I am so pleased your heroine found her way to poetry!
Deeply evocative piece.
I like the repetition in this, and that “three times three times three” emphasizes it.
This is wondrous and mythical — fascinating Helene. The repetition pulls one in deeper and deeper, just as relentlessness can lead to success. Enjoyed your reading yesterday, thank you for contributing, wish dverybody would. Of course it would stretch well beyond an hour. I love the international flavor of OLN Live!
The painting made me think of Billie Holiday and strange fruits… this way of tying it to mythology made the image a little bit less horrid for me.