To the bounds of the world and back at once,
Eagerly, longingly; the lone flyer beckons
My soul unceasingly to sail o’er the whale-path,
[Over] the waves of the sea.
[64.] At this point the dull homiletic passage begins. Much of it is quite untranslatable. A free paraphrase may be seen in Cook and Tinker, Translations from Old English Poetry, p. 47.
THE WIFE’S LAMENT
[Text used: Kluge, Angelsächsisches Lesebuch, p. 146.
The meaning of some parts of this poem is very obscure—especially lines 18-21 and 42-47. No satisfactory explanation of them has been given. There is probably no relation except in general theme between it and [The Husband’s Message].]
Sorrowfully I sing my song of woe,
My tale of trials. In truth I may say