Kalevala : the Epic Poem of Finland — Complete. Anonymous

"Surely thou wert void of greatness,

       Having neither strength nor beauty,

       When the moose was trampling on thee,

       When the roebuck trod upon thee,

       When the tracks of wolves were in thee,

       And the bear-paws scratched thy body.

       Surely thou hadst little value

       When the skilful Ilmarinen,

       First of all the iron-workers,

       Brought thee from the blackened swamp-lands,

       Took thee to his ancient smithy,

       Placed thee in his fiery furnace.

       Truly thou hadst little vigor,

       Little strength, and little danger,

       When thou in the fire wert hissing,

       Rolling forth like seething water,

       From the furnace of the smithy,

       When thou gavest oath the strongest,

       By the furnace, by the anvil,

       By the tongs, and by the hammer,

       By the dwelling of the blacksmith,

       By the fire within the furnace.

       "Now forsooth thou hast grown mighty,

       Thou canst rage in wildest fury;

       Thou hast broken all thy pledges,

       All thy solemn vows hast broken,

       Like the dogs thou shamest honor,

       Shamest both thyself and kindred,

       Tainted all with breath of evil.

       Tell who drove thee to this mischief,

       Tell who taught thee all thy malice,

       Tell who gavest thee thine evil!

       Did thy father, or thy mother,

       Did the eldest of thy brothers,

       Did the youngest of thy sisters,

       Did the worst of all thy kindred

       Give to thee thine evil nature?

       Not thy father, nor thy mother,

       Not the eldest of thy brothers,

       Not the youngest of thy sisters,

       Not the worst of all thy kindred,

       But thyself hast done this mischief,

       Thou the cause of all our trouble.

       Come and view thine evil doings,

       And amend this flood of damage,

       Ere I tell thy gray-haired mother,

       Ere I tell thine aged father.

       Great indeed a mother's anguish,

       Great indeed a father's sorrow,

       When a son does something evil,

       When a child runs wild and lawless.

       "Crimson streamlet, cease thy flowing

       From the wounds of Wainamoinen;

       Blood of ages, stop thy coursing

       From the veins of the magician;

       Stand like heaven's crystal pillars,

       Stand like columns in the ocean,

       Stand like birch-trees in the forest,

       Like the tall reeds in the marshes,

       Like the high-rocks on the sea-coast,

       Stand by power of mighty magic!

       "Should perforce thy will impel thee,

       Flow thou on thine endless circuit,

       Through the veins of Wainamoinen,

       Through the bones, and through the muscles,

       Through the lungs, and heart, and liver,

       Of the mighty sage and singer;

       Better be the food of heroes,

       Than to waste thy strength and virtue

       On the meadows and the woodlands,

       And be lost in dust and ashes.

       Flow forever in thy circle;

       Thou must cease this crimson out-flow;

       Stain no more the grass and flowers,

       Stain no more these golden hill-tops,

       Pride and beauty of our heroes.

       In the veins of the magician,

       In the heart of Wainamoinen,

       Is thy rightful home and storehouse.

       Thither now withdraw thy forces,

       Thither hasten, swiftly flowing;

       Flow no more as crimson currents,

       Fill no longer crimson lakelets,

       Must not rush like brooks in spring-tide,

       Nor meander like the rivers.

       "Cease thy flow, by word of magic,

       Cease as did the falls of Tyrya,

       As the rivers of Tuoni,

       When the sky withheld her rain-drops,

       When the sea gave up her waters,

       In the famine of the seasons,

       In the years of fire and torture.

       If thou heedest not this order,

       I shall offer other measures,

       Know I well of other forces;

       I shall call the Hisi irons,

       In them I shall boil and roast thee,

       Thus to check thy crimson flowing,

       Thus to save the wounded hero.

       "If these means be inefficient,

       Should these measures prove unworthy,

       I shall call omniscient Ukko,

       Mightiest of the creators,

       Stronger than all ancient heroes,

       Wiser than the world-magicians;

       He will check the crimson out-flow,

       He will heal this wound of hatchet.

       "Ukko, God of love and mercy,

       God and Master Of the heavens,

       Come thou hither, thou art needed,

       Come thou quickly I beseech thee,

       Lend thy hand to aid thy children,

       Touch this wound with healing fingers,

       Stop this hero's streaming life-blood,

       Bind this wound with tender leaflets,

       Mingle with them healing flowers,

       Thus to check this crimson current,

       Thus to save this great magician,

       Save the life of Wainamoinen."

       Thus at last the blood-stream ended,

       As the magic words were spoken.

       Then the gray-beard, much rejoicing,

       Sent his young son to the smithy,

       There to make a healing balsam,

       From the herbs of tender fibre,

       From the healing plants and flowers,

       From the stalks secreting honey,

       From the roots, and leaves, and blossoms.

       On the way he meets an oak-tree,

       And the oak