Half A World

About the earth rich trade awaits The passage there seals fates Papal bulls state in this world Whose sails, whose flags unfurl Portugal and Spain, the brave Iberia rules the waves To east and west these ravens fly As Huginn and Muninn split the sky Half the earth becomes our berth Half the earth becomes our berth In Tordesillas, Alexander Raised his voice and quill like thunder As a powerful commander Like Moses once, cleft waves asunder Cut Castile from eastern vendors Loosened Lusitania's rein Halved the world and halved its splendour Divide and conquer in God's name Divide and conquer in God's name A furrow, no more, this meridian line No more does it define? Hemispheres No pope had said it Circulum non dedit In Tordesillas, Alexander Raised his voice and quill like thunder As a powerful commander Like Moses once, cleft waves asunder Cut Castile from eastern vendors Loosened Lusitania's rein Halved the world and halved its splendour Divide and conquer in God's name The Papal Line of Demarcation Floats unstead'ly in the ocean Challenged by the neighb'ring nations It oscillates in a flutt'ring motion Claim, reclaim and then surrender Islands, coast-lines, heathen thrones Bloodlines and claims of contenders Are hewn in water, not in stone Hewn in water, not in stone