More Stones with Robert Graves

THE JUDGES

Crouched on wet shingle at the cove

In day-long search for treasure-trove--

Meaning the loveliest-patterned pebble,

Of any colour imaginable,

Ground and smoothed by a gentle sea--

How seldom, Julia, we agree

On our day's find: the perfect one

To fetch back home when day is done,

Splendid enough to stupefy

The fiercest, most fastidious eye--

Tossing which back we tell the sea:

'Work on it one more century!'

--Robert Graves

Aegir, Ready

Aegir: sculpture mix; blue, green,and white glazes; copper wire; fishhooks. 20-minute exercise with model. (I overglazed, actually, but later I realized that I like the gloppy, soggy, flowing look with this piece.)

Aegir is one of the Northern European sea-gods from pagan times; he and his wife Ran use hooks and nets, fishing for the souls of fisherfolk, sailors, merchants, and passengers upon those cold northern waters. (Njord is another Norse god, though he has more to do with ships, harbors, and anchorages.) Aegir is known for the beer he brews; the Norse gods, led by Odin, Thor, and Frey, often spend weeks at a time hoisting tankards and horns with Aegir and his sea-folk in that cave beneath the sea.

Being the guest of Aegir, if you're not a Norse deity, just may mean you've gone and drowned yourself. At least the beer is reputed to be good.