Erik The Red Poem by Tor Magnor Solvang

Erik the Red, a man of might,
Left Norway, took to flight.
Iceland next, then banished far,
Beneath a cold and lonely star.

He sailed west, a fearless soul,
To lands unknown, beyond control.
Ice and mountains, stark and grand,
He found a new and frozen land.

Greenland he named it, bold and sly,
A trick to lure ships passing by.
'Come, ' he called, 'to fields so green! '
Though ice was all that could be seen.

Folk followed, brave and strong,
To build a home where they belonged.
From exile's pain, a leader rose,
Where icy winds forever blow.

His son, Leif, a legend too,
Sailed farther than his father knew.
To Vinland's shore, a distant place,
A Viking bloodline left its trace.

Erik the Red, he dared to dream,
A Viking king, it would seem.
Courage led him, strong and free,
Across the wild and frozen sea.

T.M.Solvang