For Karl.

To Forseti

Hail to you clear-eyed Forseti, wise son of Baldr
the beloved and faithful Nanna, with a voice
that puts to sleep quarrels and a mind like a whirling stream,
able to solve the hardest of puzzles and settle any dispute
brought before you, no matter how tangled,
O you who preside over the law-court of the Æsir,
impartial, balanced, unbribable, justice-loving one
who leaves all parties feeling heard,
who stills strife and ends bloody feuds,
who can tell false from the true, Forseti,
Lord of the silver-roofed hall Glitnir with golden pillars,
where the aggrieved gather to hear you pass sound judgments
and give sage counsel to all, hear my prayer O gracious God,
and bring stillness, clarity, understanding and resolution
to a mind that is a jangle of contradictions,
wrong in its convictions, fearful, puffed up with pride
or whatever else is keeping me from seeing,
knowing, and doing what I should.