Ballad of the Bear

Then, hear, ye lords, hear, hear a joyous call!
And let the young men fight
From dawn until the night!
We, young men, will join this Fall,
To the sword and to the mace,
To the ancient gath’ring place
And there our new challenge face!
The harvest and then the jousting tourney
Our calendars mark on each year’s journey,
For this year you are old enough
To melee in the ring, to tumble in the rough;
We are the youths, grown to men
Who fight together as ten;

In the primal blood sport find
How to protect our own kind;
In the ancient wisdom told
From the lore of days of old;
In the strength that seeks through death,
To bring the monstrous Bear at last to heel.

And then, one day, your village leader speaks,
“We are but nine and need ten in two weeks!”
You wonder if you should recommend him;
Though he’ll stay hidden under his helm scrim!