Havamal - the Wisdom of Odin

A snapping bow, a burning flame,
A grinning wolf, a grunting boar,
A raucous crow, a rootless tree,
A breaking wave, a boiling kettle,
A flying arrow, an ebbing tide,
A coiled adder, the ice of a night,
A bride's bed talk, a broad sword,
A bear's play, a prince's children,
A witch's welcome, the wit of a slave,
A sick calf, a corpse still fresh,
A brother's killer encountered upon the highway,
A house half-burned, a racing stallion who has wrenched a leg,
Are never safe: let no man trust them.

From The Havamal of Odin, the old Norse wisdom of the All-Father.

I have a friend who likes all things Viking, and it was him who inspired me to track down a copy of the Havamal and, ultimately, write out a piece of it. This is only a short extract - the Havamal itself is very long.

It is written on fine white paper (8.27 in x 11.69 in) in black ink in the Elder Futhark runes (a straight transposing of its letters for ours, I did not translate the words into old Norse!) over a Norse style depiction of a snarling wolf in pale green and blue.