𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒑𝒆- 𝙰 𝙿𝚘𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔

𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚅𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚎: 𝙰 𝙿𝚘𝚎𝚖 𝚋𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚔𝚒

Another mythology poem! I actually entered this one in a poetry slam at my local library however many years back. I didn't win, but it was fun. Also, welcome to the fun literary part of this poem. Whether this is actually a sympathetic Loki or if he's just lying is up to your interpretation!

I was born a child of two worlds
Belonging to both
And yet to neither.
My father's people
The enemies of my mother's
And yet so similar
Perhaps even the same.

I gave it a chance-
Asgard,
The world my mother called home.
They tolerated me there,
Of course they did.
But did they truly consider me
One of their own?

Of course not.
I was an outsider,
An other
Who didn't belong.

These they called me:
Trickster, liar,
Cheater, jester.
So I like to have my fun.
I was close with their leader,
Blood brothers even.
I traveled with him and his son.

But still,
Whenever something went wrong,
I was the first they blamed.

Sure, I produced
Most monstrous offspring.
Sure I murdered
Their most beloved.
But was I not provoked?
They made me the way I am,
I can prove it.

Odin sacrifices far too much
For things that aren't even worth it.
Things that keep him up at night,
Worrying over his own fate,
What he insists will come to pass one day,
What he claims is inevitable.

Thor doesn't think enough.
He smashes first,
Asks questions later.
I can't tell you
How many times
I've been at the business end
Of that intimidating hammer.

Frigg thinks too much.
She tried to cheat fate,
Death even.
She thought she could save
Her precious Baldr.
If she truly preferred him to remain alive,
Would she not take an oath
From the tiniest sprig of mistletoe?
Then why did she mourn his death?
That hypocrite.

Baldr was too bright and sunny.
No one could bear him having nightmares.
He was the one that all loved.
He was annoying and just asking to be taken out.
I'm glad I killed him.

Freyr's a hopeless romantic.
He gave up Sumarbrander,
His greatest weapon
For the hand of a frost giant maiden in marriage.
For that mistake,
Stupid old Freyr
Will one day meet his end
At the hands of my old friend Surt
With his own lost blade.

Freyja sleeps around too much, it seems.
No wonder Odr left her,
She didn't know how to be faithful.
She'll take anyone to bed
Just for something pretty, shiny, and new.
How do you think she got Brisingamen?
Just ask her, I dare you!

They all have their flaws,
Things they regret.
They needed someone to take it out on.
And who did they choose?
That's right, me!

Tell me,
Do you think I deserved it?
I want you to be honest.
Come on,
Say it to my face, you coward!

They never treated me
Like one of their own.
Instead, they drove me to a breaking point,
A point of no return.
Thank Frigg, that hypocrite,
For forgetting the mistletoe
In her attempt to change fate.

I've committed crimes,
It's true.
But the gods have, too.
They massacred my father's people.
The number of lives of the giants they've slain
Far outweigh those of Baldr and Fimafeng.

I was proud.
I'd spoken up.
So at Aegir's feast,
I decided to confess to all I'd done,
And to tell all of my so-called "friends"
Just what I really think of them.

And where did that get me?
Chained in a cave
With the entrails of my precious son
Venom from a serpent dripping on my face.
Lucky to have a faithful wife who stays
To catch the poison.
But the pain that comes
When she empties her bowl
Is unlike any other.

One day,
I'll break free
And exact my revenge
On those I once called friends.
One day,
But not now.
I'm not yet ready.

Can't you see?
The gods made me what I am.
Thanks to them,
I've become everything they ever called me.
Can't you see
It's all their fault?

So stop villainizing me.
I don't deserve it.
I'm not the bad guy.

Stop villainizing me.
Odin and his lot
Took everything good I ever had
And replaced it with pain
With hatred and darkness.
I'm not who I was anymore.
The old Loki is gone.
Now all I want is revenge.

Stop villainizing me.
Sure, I've killed.
I've lied,
Cheated,
Stolen.
But was all of that not justified?
I've never done something
Without a purpose
Without a motive.
I'd never kill unprovoked
I promise you.

I'm just the innocent man
Dragged into all of this.
The victim playing the villain,
If you will.
It's all their fault.
They've made me what I am,
And I'm not the bad guy.
Stop villainizing me!