84/100 Erling glides in a trance

And as for thy brothers, one

Has a skull square as an ox,

And Erling glides in a trance

Through bell and psalm and secret,

A cold mouth in the godstreams.

[from ‘Rose’, The five voyages of Arnor, 3, Viking Testament, George Mackay Brown, 'Selected poems 1952-1992']

83/100 And tatters of blood

I bought the horse in Dublin.

Seven times

It reared against horn and shield-wall

Now that it's hide and bone, that nag,

And tatters of blood

I am walking back to the town.

[from 'Orkneymen at Clontarf, AD 1014, George Mackay Brown, 'Selected poems 1952-1992']