The paradox here
is that those who have real skill in the language have no need to
translate it, so the rest of us have to make do with whatever we can get
or do ourselves. Certainly not an ideal state of affairs...

You have a good point here.  Unfortunately, I do not have enough influence to ask for a complete translation of the poems.  However, would it be worthwhile to do it on this list, discussing one poem per week, for example?  We could start with Fe, and we already have what is on your website and some comments:

Old Icelandic:
(Fé) er frænda róg     ok flæðar viti

ok grafseiðs gata.

aurum.     fylkir

Edred Thorsson:
(Gold) is the strife of kinsmen     and fire of the flood-tide
and the path of the serpent.

Gold.     Leader of the war-band.

http://www.northvegr.org/runes/007.html
wealth 1 is kinsmen's strife/ and flood-tide's sign 2/ and grave-sorcery's 3 way.
        aurum 4               fylkir
                      gold                          sherriff 5
Dan's Comments:
1. Also livestock, generally cattle, but also sheep (esp. in Iceland), the measure of wealth. [Back]
2. Possibly drowned livestock as an indication of flooding? Thorsson's translation of viti as "fire" is problematic - it has the sense of "beacon", but only in relation to signs or signals. [Back]
3. Thorsson has translated this as "serpent" - possibly reading it as "grave-sitter"? However, it is clearly derived from síða "to work a charm/ magic". Thematically, it recalls Óðin's power to raise or communicate with the dead (ie. the sybil of Völuspá, Mimir's head, etc.). [Back]
4. In addition to the normal stanzas, the text has been glossed with Latin equivalents and various titles for king or leader that use the primary sound of the rune. [Back]
5. The king of a fylki "county, shire", perhaps "petty-king". Fylki is ultimately derived from fólk "people". [Back]

Icelandic Comments:
For example, both the kennings given under the first rune, FÉ,
> are very simple gold-kennings, totally transparent to anyone
> with a minimum knowledge of the system:
>
> FLÆÐAR VITI = ocean's beacon = GOLD
> GRAFSEIÐS GATA = grave-fish's road = serpent's road = GOLD
>
> The translator obviously had no idea what to make of these
> simplest of kennings, for he translated them as "flood-tide's
> sign" and "grave-sorcery's way"! How these "interpretations"
> are supposed to fit the theme of FÉ, I have no idea.