Step 9 of 9 · Endings, Mourning and What Lasts
What is dear to the living
Why this step
The trail ends on small things. Stanza 68 names fire, the sight of the sun, health and a life without shame as dearest, and stanza 69 says the sick man is not robbed of everything, because some are blessed in children, some in kin, some in wealth and some in working well. The entry reads the two stanzas as lists of small goods to count when things are going badly.
The text, stanzas 68–69
68.
Most dear is fire to the sons of men,
most sweet the sight of the sun;
good is health if one can but keep it,
and to live a life without shame.
69.
Not reft of all is he who is ill,
for some are blest in their bairns,
some in their kin and some in their wealth,
and some in working well.
- Olive Bray (editor and translator), The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems (opens in a new tab) (1908), stanzas 68–69 (Bray’s numbering) Rights: Public domain. Published in 1908, so in the public domain in the United States. Text as edited online by D. L. Ashliman, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, University of Pittsburgh.
From the Lorebook
Fire, sunshine, health and a life without shame are dearest. Even the sick are not stripped of everything: some are blessed in children, kin, wealth or work.
Questions to sit with
- On a hard day, what is on your own list of small goods?