Vikings Invaded Russia Poem by Tor Magnor Solvang

They turned from crashing waves,
And shores of plunder sought.
Instead of fear they gave,
A different path they brought.

The longboat kissed the stream,
Through forests dark and deep.
A brand new waking dream,
Where ancient secrets sleep.

No gold from churches high,
But furs and amber gleam.
Beneath a eastern sky,
They built a river dream.

From Novgorod to Kiev,
Their trading towns arose.
A dynasty they wove,
As mighty river flows.

Rurik, a name they say,
Began this eastern birth.
They shaped a different way,
And claimed a new, vast earth.

While brothers clashed in fight,
They sailed a peaceful trade.
A quiet, growing might,
A different path was made.

The raider's storm so grand,
Or merchant's steady hand.
Which left a larger brand,
Upon this eastern land?