How The World Ends

A line across the sky,

the maw of a primordial beast—the night light is extinguished now.

Gaping jaw, bleeding clouds

Spilling sunlight, shining between teeth—Sköll and Hati have finally caught their prey.

Orbit within orbit,

Celestial bodies churning in the belly of the wolves.

Stars have lost their lingering lustre.

Branches loosen their grip on the

inky cosmos

Falling leaves join rotting roots.

Immortal rings of wood

shrink

into

each

other,

Collapse

upon

themselves,

An impossibility,

a trunk sapped,

a trunk snapped.

Yggdrasil, have you withered?

Then it must be time.

Fenrir, you are—released!

Fang and fury, muzzled too long, come test your fiery wrath against this trembling universe.

Press your snout to the weeping sky, lower your jaw to the soft earth

And feast.

Jormungand, unwind yourself from your ocean depths.

Unravel the earth, spit out the seas. Let the salt tears pour

poison on fertile land. Let the sky taste the bitterness for once. Let the air choke.

This is your gift, mighty serpent.

Surt, bring the flames of Muspelheim as you emerge.

Crack the dome of the sky, fire in pits of hell, fire on the wings of heaven.

Rage, rage, this rage is well-deserved. March across the world

and burn it to ash.

Loki, traitorous trickster! Mourning father.

Welcome aboard, Captain—I see your wrists gleam free of their iron chains,

And oh, your face! That poison-scarred affair will be made lovely once more.

Once you avenge the son your godly brethren slain before you.

Just like her Captain,

free from her moorings, Naglfar sets sail once more. Off into the dark rumbling sea

She goes!

Her ancient bones creak, weeping for hot blood.

And as the waters begin to tinge rust-red

And as the sun and moon are swallowed

And as the earth blackens

Giants and Gods will end the world atop a rainbow.