THE POET AND ARAWN

While, in heaven, bored gods threw a dice,
To decide the fate of man and mice,
Poet had a story to tell,
Though with it went, if told, an eternity in hell,
So Goddess of poets, fire and war, did he summon truth to tell,
To ring it out loud, clear as a bell,
For he with Arawn, king of the otherworld,
Struck a bargain, so the story unfurled,
Poet, had accidentally killed Lord of Death’s hound,
Now, said king wanted poets flesh, though more than a pound,
So, to save his life,
And plenty of strife,
He, and he were to change places,
And have different faces,
For the Lord needed poet’s body in war to fight,
No use poor poet, being contrite,
For as sure as Arawn’s hounds ran through the autumn sky,
If he didn’t agree, he would surely die.