In Canto 77, Pound quotes from the Old English poem known as The Wanderer:
Padre Jose' had understood something or other
before the deluxe car carried him over the precipice
_sumne fugol othbaer_
A literal translation of the old english would be "(a certain) one (the)
fowl carried off". Readers of Old English poetry disagree on what this line
means; however, many think the 'fowl' to be a kenning for 'ship', i.e. that
the subject of the line is a ship burial. From his juxtaposing the line
with "the deluxe car carried him over the precipice" it would seem that
Pound took this line from The Wanderer in that way.
I've done an electronic edition of The Wanderer. The edition, and a not
unfaithful translation, can be found on my web site.
www.aimsdata.com/tim
Tim Romano