Svanhild [gravely].
Her knight behind her, like a champion bold,
His hat upon his elbow, like a shield—
Falk.
Your mother nodded to your untouched cup:
“Drink, Svanhild dear, before your tea grows cold.”
And then you drank the vapid liquor up,
The mawkish brew beloved of young and old.
But that name gripped me with a sudden spell;
The grim old Völsungs as they fought and fell,