seventeen runes have I written
on hazel staves and river stones
on apple boughs
and dragon bones
on sword and shield
on wagon wheels
and sleigh traces
on wolf’s claw
and bear’s paw
on serpent’s tongue
on brooch and ring
on the night owl’s wing
on silver, on glass, on gold
seventeen runes
for birth, for death
written on fire
and the wind’s breath
and the eighteenth rune
which save in the hidden speech of love
is never told.