Learn Thy Trade

From minute settlements, to towns of trade
Yet without warning, a sudden raid
A venture into foreign lands
The walls and gates of Viking hands

To labour on, as understood
Homes we build, prepare thy wood
Address the strength of near rooftops
For there beneath lay our workshops

Commence the plan, we have devised
Perfect thy craft and specialize
Protect the home, o’ dearest wives
We venture out, to honour lives

I make thy comb, you make thy shoe
With silver weighed, we shall accrue
Of buried towns, forgotten fence
The archaeological evidence

Of generations when time began
Young boy o’ ten, become a man
We send you on, to grasp thy trade
The substance of which life is made

Trade thy pot and wooden chest
Wives will loom and keep the nest
Our homes rest on thy trodden earth
Stones surround thy warming hearth

I write, I read, a leader’s state
O carved letters educate
We shall not settle for any less
Protection called, our high goddess

Written by Geraldine Taylor ©