Words beneath a dappled sky

Caged by men, to foe unfearing
The bars give way with courage nearing
In lines of steel her fair face tearing
Sharp, bright-edged Eowyn

An adaptation of Tennyson's Lady of Shallot for Eowyn's story, the idea was started by someone else but caught my fancy so I ran with it. I remember spending the better part of a long Thanksgiving weekend trip with a notebook in hand struggling to work this through - and yes, it's just as long. For what it's worth, I've had a couple people tell me they preferred it to the original, which was a fine compliment indeed.

The Lady Eowyn
( In hall of stone above the plains )
-

"Walk with me." He says, and I do.
Inside my heart I look askance at myself.
What of my own people? My own ambitions?
Yet... I want to walk in the garden with him,
To walk and wander and to have it never end.

An interlude among the war and darkness - this set has the same event from two different viewpoints and styles. The first is Eowyn's, and is a thoughtful, poetic prose style with longer flowing lines. The second is Faramir's and has been set to a more tightly patterned rhyming form with the intent of a military feel. The companion piece for this set would be Ithilien Sunset.

Strange Comfort (Eowyn in the Garden)
( There is little green or open in this city of stone )
-
Faramir in the Garden
( More open lands you love, perhaps )
-

Slaying
And guarding in the same blow.

Meanwhile, things were not going well over in Minas Tirith - one verse for the horrifying items catapulted in, one for my favorite brave Gondorian soldier who was dealing with his Lord's insanity. Beregond is interesting in that it is written as a layered piece, two poems in one.

Heads
( these missiles that do not burn )
-
Beregond
( He burns - )
-

So near to darkness, green life holds sway

I've always had a love for plants and for simple gardening, perhaps that is part of why Ithilien remains one of my favorite places in M-e, the idea of a garden overgrown, the life just beneath the neglect. The first poem is a gentler verse for the bit of broth Sam made there, before meeting Faramir - the second is for the window beneath the waterfall of Henneth Annun and the contrast of its color and light with the darkness the men were dwelling in behind it.

Ithilien
( A gardener's hands are among you )
-
Window on the West
( Deep memories of some heart’s desire )
-

Eowyn's despairing hidden love for what she could not have, and the final resolution of that hurt. With it I'm placing a character sketch of Grima, a strangely intimate look at the twisted relationship from Theoden's point of view.

Not for Thee
( I'll numb my heart to set it free, drown in a blacker day )
-
Snake
( Tell me again how the flames of this fire are sufficient light for old eyes...lest I awake )
-

Sometimes repetition works - tell them you love them every day.

Triolets, short love-notes with an echo

Sam and Rosie

This memory I shall hold dear,
My Rosie, ribbons in her hair -
For even through the pain and fear,
This memory I shall hold dear:
Her laugh alone I'd sometimes hear...
I saw her at the party fair.
This memory I shall hold dear,
My Rosie, ribbons in her hair.

( Tom and Goldberry )
( Elrond and Celebrian )
( Eowyn and Faramir )
And one that isn't exactly romance, but certainly faithful friendship:
( Sam and Bill the Pony )

A/N: A small collection of Thanksgiving-themed drabbles for Middle-earth.

( Sam and Rosie )
-
( Aragorn and Arwen )
-
( Gloin )
-
( Shelob )
-
( The Travellers )
-
( Barliman )
-
( A Brace of Coney )
-
( Faramir )